Operators to Launch NFC-Based Mobile Payment Services

Operators to Launch NFC-Based Mobile Payment Services

November 13, 2007

- Major Step Towards a Global Interoperable Mobile Payments
System

    MACAU, China, Nov. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Over the
next several months, 12 mobile operators will run trials of
contactless mobile payment services in Australia, France,
Ireland, Korea, Malaysia, Norway, The Philippines,
Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, and the U.S. as a precursor to
commercial launches. The trials form part of the GSMA's
Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative, which is designed to provide a
single global approach to enabling contactless payments
using a mobile phone. Consumers will be able to use their
handsets to quickly, easily and securely pay for goods and
services in shops, restaurants and train stations.

    The Pay-Buy-Mobile Initiative supports the use of the
Single Wire Protocol, which was adopted by ETSI(i) as a
standard in October, to link the Universal Integrated
Circuit Card (UICC) contained within the mobile handset
with the phone's embedded Near Field Communications (NFC)
chip. The NFC chip can communicate with existing
contactless payment systems to deliver a wide range of
secure, interoperable and transparent services, such as
credit and debit payments. There are 35 operators with 1.3
billion customers participating in the initiative.

    In a global first, executives from Korean operator KTF
have paid for goods by passing their NFC-equipped handsets
by contactless readers in retail outlets in Korea, Taiwan,
and the U.S. in a trial involving real transactions
facilitated by MasterCard. For this trial, MasterCard's
PayPass application and Shinhan Bank's credit card
application were downloaded to a KTF UICC embedded in the
mobile handsets, which were provided by LG Electronics and
Samsung Electronics. The retail outlets at the respective
locations were equipped with readers that support the NFC
interface and accept MasterCard's PayPass applications,
enabling real transactions in three different countries.

    "Just nine months after this programme was
launched in Barcelona, the first pioneering mobile
operators are preparing for the rollout of commercial
services that have the potential to become the foundation
of a global, interoperable mobile payment service,"
said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA, the global trade
association for mobile operators. "Mobile payment
services, which will enable transactions to be completed
faster in shops, restaurants and train stations, will also
make it easier for merchants to offer their customers
precisely-targeted discounts and other promotional
offers."

    Both consumers and merchants see significant benefits
from using the mobile phone as a payment form factor at
point of sale, according to research carried out by Serrula
on behalf of the GSMA. Two-thirds of the 2,574 consumers in
17 countries surveyed said that they expect to begin using
their mobile phone to pay at point of sale within two years
of the service becoming available. Moreover, 50% of the 240
merchants from 10 countries surveyed see promotional
opportunities in using the mobile phone as a payment
device.

    Supporting Quotes

    "We are proud to be the first operator in the
world to trial this global payment scheme," said
Young-Chu Cho, CEO of KTF, a leading HSPA operator in
Korea. "We have been working diligently to deliver
more than mobile values to our customers and NFC M-Payment
is definitely a step forward in realizing our
vision."

    "By adopting the global standard, experiences and
technology, we aim to trigger our domestic NFC related
industries to align with global standards and develop more
advanced services and products to energize the
telecommunications category. We are glad to join this
global payment scheme trial to demonstrate cross-border
interoperability," said Mr. Jan Nilsson, President of
Far EasTone Telecommunications.

    "Australia is experiencing a wireless revolution
with the highest growth rates in the world. Telstra is
working with one of the country's leading banks and a
global credit card provider to make it easier for customers
to pay for goods and services with their mobile phones with
a trial to begin early next year," said Sol Trujillo,
CEO of Telstra.

    "In Europe, Orange is a pioneer in promoting
high-scale trials in association with a large number of
banks, major financial institutions and key MNOs to launch
interoperable mobile contactless payment services,"
said
Mung-Ki Woo of Orange, VP Payment and Contactless.
"Orange has announced trials in the UK and a
commercial launch in France in 2008, that will include not
only payment but also transport ticketing, football stadium
ticketing, and interactive billboards with key service
partners."

    "AT&T was the first carrier in North America
to participate in a large-scale NFC contactless payments
trial in 2005," said Mark Collins, VP of Consumer Data
Services at AT&T Mobility. "Even from our early
efforts in this space, we've seen the value of engaging a
broad ecosystem to drive standards and promote the adoption
of mobile payment services. We are excited to build on our
early work in this space and to play a role in establishing
global standards for mobile payments."

    "Maxis' participation in GSMA's global
Pay-Buy-Mobile trials is a significant milestone in our
overall Mobile Payment strategy, which we launched as Maxis
M-Money in early 2007," said Dr Nikolai Dobberstein,
Head of Products and New Businesses of Maxis
Communications, Malaysia's largest mobile
telecommunications operator. "Maxis, currently the
only Malaysian mobile operator participating in the
Pay-Buy-Mobile Trial, has already rolled out a number of
mobile payment services, including Mobile International
Remittances. Maxis is also conducting trials for a hybrid
multi-payment mobile service for credit card and prepaid
travel payments, incorporating NFC technology."

    "SFR, a leading HSPA MNO in France, has already
conducted several trials in the field of mobile NFC
services, focused both on transportation ticketing and
m-payment. SFR is also currently testing multi-applicative
NFC services in Strasbourg, combining a credit card payment
application and a transportation application that customers
are able to use in the trams and buses," said Mireille
Poggi, Mobile Payment & M-Commerce Marketing Manager of
SFR. "As we believe strongly that interoperability
will be key regarding mobile NFC acceptance by customers
and service providers, SFR is in the meantime an active
member of Pegasus, a global French initiative, including
both major MNOs and banks, aiming at defining an
interoperable setup in payment."

    "The popularity of MasterCard PayPass, coupled
with the widespread use of wireless technology has created
many payment opportunities far beyond that of the simple
swipe of a card," said Shuan Ghaidan, Head of Product
Sales and Delivery, Asia/Pacific MasterCard Worldwide.
"This new NFC-based KTF mobile payment phone shows
innovative use of the latest technology to increase
convenience by giving consumers the ability to use their
mobile phones to make contactless payments anywhere around
the world where PayPass is accepted. MasterCard is pleased
to contribute to the establishment of global standards that
will help push the mobile payment market to the critical
mass level."

    Notes to Editors:

    The 12 operators running trials include AT&T, Far
EasTone, Orange, KTF,
Maxis, SFR, SingTel, Telstra and Turkcell.

    (i) The GSMA has contributed to the adoption of mobile
NFC standards by
        the European Telecommunications Standards Institute
(ETSI) and is 
        working with other industry groups, such as the NFC
Forum and the 
        Mobey Forum, to secure agreement around a single
global approach for 
        enabling mobile payments.

    The GSMA is about to publish two white papers on
http://www.gsmworld.com, one of which sets out several
business models that can support a mobile payment service
and one of which sets out version two of the GSMA's
technical guidelines for NFC.

    The Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative builds on the
infrastructure of the major credit card companies, which
have developed specifications to ensure global
interoperability between contactless chip cards and point
of sale terminals, regardless of manufacturer, the
financial institution and location of transaction.

    The GSMA is working closely with leading financial
intermediaries and banks to promote globally interoperable
transaction solutions. Both MasterCard and VISA are
supporting the trials with their PayPass and Visa payWave
features respectively, that enable NFC-equipped phones to
effect payment transactions at secure contactless point of
sale terminals.

    LG, Motorola, Nokia, Sagem and Samsung are among the
handset makers developing phones for NFC-enabled mobile
payment services.

    Gemalto, G&D and KEBT are among the UICC card
suppliers supporting NFC-enabled mobile payment services.

    Vivotech and Harex are among the companies developing
NFC-enabled readers that support NFC-enabled mobile payment
services.

    About the GSM Association:

    The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade
association representing700 GSM mobile phone operators
across 218 countries of the world. In addition, more than
200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's
initiatives as key partners.

    The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile
phones and wireless services work globally and are easily
accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers
and national economies, while creating new business
opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The
Association's members serve more than 2.5 billion customers
- 85% of the world's mobile phone users.


    For more information, please contact:

     Mark Smith
     The GSM Association
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     David Pringle
     The GSM Association
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]