French digital security specialist Gemalto has developed and customised its UpTeq Multi-Tenant NFC SIM especially for China Telecom’s NFC programme.
Gemalto is one of six vendors to receive a supply contract following a large SIM tender request from the operator, which is launching commercial NFC services.
The roll-out of NFC services means China Telecom subscribers will be able to choose from different types of NFC-enabled mobile phones to make payments for transportation, dining, shopping and petrol throughout the country. Airport check-ins, personal authentication services and employee ID services will be introduced in the future.
China Telecom, which is one of the country’s largest mobile operators with over 183 million subscribers, announced its NFC programme last November – China’s other big mobile operators China Mobile and China Unicom also have NFC programmes.
Half of China’s 1.4 billion population lives in urban areas and most of the country’s mega-cities are already equipped with contactless transport infrastructures, according to Gemalto, so China Telecom subscribers will soon be able to use their mobile phones to pay for everyday services like riding the metro.
“With smartphone penetration in China surpassing 66 percent and over three million contactless POS terminals in the field, the mobile payment ecosystem is in place. The major players in China are launching NFC initiatives, enabling China Telecom’s subscribers to experience a rich variety of contactless services,” said Suzanne Tong-Li, president of Greater China and Korea at Gemalto.
Gemalto said it is working with a number of other global companies, including Vodafone to deliver NFC services.