Weve - the UK mobile payment and mobile advertising venture formed by EE, O2 and Vodafone - says it’s partnering with MasterCard to speed up the development of a contactless mobile payments system.
The new system will make it easier for banks to offer ‘tap and pay’ services to mobile phone users. It’s expected to be based on current industry contactless standards and will take advantage of MasterCard’s ongoing relationship with banks.
David Sear, Weve’s CEO, said “MasterCard’s vision of a world beyond cash maps neatly onto our own vision of a world powered by mobile. Its existing relationships with the banks, in addition to its own experience of the mobile payments world, make it an ideal partner for Weve. It allows the banks to focus on what they’re good at – finding smarter and more elegant ways for their customers to pay for goods and services. Contactless payments have already been embraced by UK consumers and retailers, with the UK the most advanced market for adoption of contactless cards with around 300,000 retail outlets now accepting payments in this way. With MasterCard, we want mobile to reach the tapping point.”