Mobile Payment Magazine

Mobile Payment for iPhone to Launch in South Korea

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South Korea’s telecom titan KT Corp. said Monday that it will roll out a new service for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, which will turn the smartphone into a mobile wallet for wireless financial transactions.

The country’s second-largest mobile operator plans to introduce a new smartphone case for the iPhone based on near field communication (NFC) technology, which allows a wireless exchange of data within a 10 centimeter range, it said. The NFC case will enable users to make credit card payments or pay subway fees by simply waving their iPhone over an electronic reader, KT said. [Read more…]

Major Mobile Operators Worldwide Announce Commitment to NFC Technology

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Many of the world’s leading operators, including América Móvil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SK Telecom, Softbank Mobile, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor and Vodafone, have voiced their commitment to implementing Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, and intend to launch commercial NFC services in select markets by 2012.

“NFC is perhaps best known for its role in enabling mobile payments, but its applications go far beyond that,” said Franco Bernabè, Chairman, GSMA and CEO, Telecom Italia. “NFC represents an important innovation opportunity, and will facilitate a wide range of interesting services and applications for consumers, such as mobile ticketing, mobile couponing, the exchange of information and content, control access to cars, homes, hotels, offices car parks and much more.”

The market potential for NFC is significant—according to Frost & Sullivan, the total payment value for NFC globally will reach more than €110 billion in 2015 – and momentum behind the technology is growing rapidly. To address this opportunity and to provide valuable new services to mobile users worldwide, the operator community is focused on driving the standardised deployment of mobile NFC, using the SIM as the secure element to provide authentication, security and portability.

To achieve this, the GSMA will develop the necessary certification and testing standards to ensure global interoperability of NFC services. This interoperability is critical to the widespread adoption of NFC, enabling users to benefit from NFC services around the world, regardless of operator network or device type.

“As we have seen, the adoption of different approaches to NFC will only serve to fragment the market,” continued Bernabè. “By uniting around a single standardised approach to mobile NFC and by collaborating across the entire ecosystem, our industry will continue to develop the compelling services that customers demand.”

via World’s Leading Mobile Operators Announce Commitment to NFC Technology ~ GSM World.

Partnership Between NTT DOCOMO and KT Corp Will Bring Cross-border NFC Services to Japan and South Korea

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NTT DOCOMO has partnered with South Korea’s leading telecom operator, KT Corporation, to use near field communication (NFC) technologies to develop cross-border services for mobile payments, mass-transit ticketing, promotional coupons and other NFC applications. The services will launch in their respective markets of Japan and South Korea from around the end of 2012.

Through their joint Business & Technology Cooperation Committee, the two companies are developing NFC common specifications that will be incorporated in devices, networks and billing platforms for seamlessly connected mobile NFC services. Customers travelling between South Korea and Japan will access the services using compatible Android handsets embedded with contactless IC chips.

DOCOMO also plans to submit an outline of the common specifications to global industry associations and standardization bodies, such as the GSM Association.

With the ultimate goal of building an international environment for compatible NFC services, DOCOMO has formed strategic tie-ups with payment technology company brand Visa Inc., NFC chip and mobile handset manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and SIM card vendor Gemalto N.V. In addition, DOCOMO will collaborate with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. and bitWallet, Inc. for enhanced cross-border services.

To prepare for the services, DOCOMO and KT will accelerate development of their existing infrastructures, as well as solicit the participation of NFC-based service providers in various industries. DOCOMO has been providing NFC-based Osaifu-Keitai™ mobile-wallet services in Japan since 2004. KT has been operating a post-paid mass transit service in South Korea since 2002.

DOCOMO will demonstrate the envisioned international NFC services at its exhibition booth during Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona, Spain from February 14-17.

Hyunmi Yang, Executive Vice President of KT, said, “Based on our long commercial experience in various financial-convergence services, the NFC collaboration between KT & DOCOMO will contribute to building a sustainable global ecosystem.”

Bill Gajda, Head of Visa Mobile, Visa Inc., said, “Visa has been instrumental in developing the global standard for mobile payments based on NFC technology. We welcome this project and see great value in extending the security, convenience and global interoperability of NFC-based mobile payments to consumers in Japan and Korea.”

“We are delighted to work with NTT DOCOMO by providing competitive NFC IC technology to develop an NFC ecosystem that offers retail and commercial customers a very high degree of convenience, services, interactivity and security on their mobile devices. Thus, we believe this business collaboration will lead to a market-leading solution, new innovation and broad commercial acceptance around the globe,” said Dr. Dojun Rhee, Vice President of the Marketing Team, System LSI Division, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

“Gemalto is delighted to contribute its world-leading NFC expertise for DOCOMO’s deployment of cross-border mobile contactless services,” commented Tan Teck-Lee, President, Gemalto Asia.

Hideo Otsuka, General Manager of the IT Business Dept. of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd., said, “We’ll aggressively collaborate more with DOCOMO so that we could develop new, fascinating cross-border payment services based on NFC technologies.”

Kazumasa Miyazawa, Chief Strategy Officer, Head of the International Business Dept. of bitWallet, Inc., said, “The specifications announced today are an ideal solution for the development of NFC services worldwide. Through their adoption, we aim to introduce seamless Edy services worldwide.”

via NTT DOCOMO Press Releases | ComSoc Communities.