The mysterious “Samsung Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile phone” announced last year is going to be a Samsung Galaxy SIII loaded with a Visa PayWave application for NFC payments, according to a statement released today. Payments will be handled by Lloyds TSB.
Samsung’s special Olympic smartphone will be available for Samsung and Visa sponsored athletes and trialists to use during the games.
Sandra Alzetta, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Visa Europe, said “Mobile technology has long been a revolutionary force in our lives and NFC-enabled devices such as the Galaxy S III will fundamentally change the way we pay. The future is mobile and cash usage will only continue to decline as people use their mobile devices to manage their money, shop and pay. This summer our partnership with Samsung will showcase all the advantages of the future of payments: security, convenience, speed and flexibility being forefront among them.”
More than 140,000 contactless payment terminals are expected to be available in the UK by the time the Olympic Games start.