Vodafone has launched its mobile wallet in Europe, enabling customers to pay by touching a compatible smartphone against a retailer’s NFC reader. It’s the first European mobile payment service built on the secure GlobalPlatform open standard.
The Vodafone SmartPass mobile payment app has been created to work with the new Vodafone Wallet. This application, developed in partnership with Visa, can be funded from the customer’s bank account and enables customers to pay with their smartphone at any Visa contactless payment terminal. As well as downloading the app, customers will need to be issued with a new SIM card that’ll securely hold payment information.
The service will initially be available on the Samsung S3, Samsung S3 mini, Samsung S4, Samsung S4 mini, Sony Xperia Z and HTC One devices. It’s launched in Spain this week, with Germany to follow next month and the Netherlands, UK and Italy in spring 2014. Customers without an NFC-equipped handset will be able to apply for an adhesive NFC tag.
Christian Wirtz, Group mCommerce director at Vodafone, said “The Vodafone Wallet offers our customers the speed, simplicity and convenience of managing everyday transactions with their smartphone. By building our service on the latest GlobalPlatform standard as opposed to a proprietary system, our mobile wallet is open to all third-party service providers, including banks and financial institutions, and we are focused on delivering the broadest service portfolio possible.”