Around 250 of Telenor’s and DnB NOR’s customers will be testing the option of paying via mobile over the coming months. A dozen locations in Oslo are taking part in the test.
The aim of the test is to learn more about how the payment-via-mobile system will work for customers and shop assistants. Testing will continue throughout the summer, and the experiences gained will be used to improve and develop the system.
Shops from the Kaffebrenneriet, Vita and Deli de Luca chains are taking part in the test, which is a cooperation between Telenor, DnB NOR, MasterCard, Teller, Nets and Giesecke and Devrient. The test project is part of a NFC City, a user driven research project which is partly financed by the research council of Norway.
The customer will be able to pay by holding their mobile up to the payment terminal at the till. Payment will be faster than and just as secure as paying by card. The money will be debited from the customer’s MasterCard.
The technology that makes this kind of payment possible is called Near Field Communication (NFC) – a system that has become a technology standard that is expected to become very widespread over the next few years. The technology allows information to be transferred securely across a short distance, and can be installed in mobile phones. The mobile phone must be held right up to the payment machine. The tiny gap means that it will be almost impossible to intercept the data exchange, and encryption systems have been developed that will increase security even more.
Everybody taking part in the test will be using a Samsung mobile with built-in NFC technology and an adapted SIM card. Most producers of smart phones will include this technology in the time to come.
New payment systems based on NFC technology have been in the pipeline for several years. There are many major initiatives on the horizon, and there is expected to be a huge increase in the use of mobile phones as a payment method over the next few years. Â Telenor, DnB NOR and the other companies taking part in this joint venture want to be at the forefront of the expanding use of payment-via-mobile systems. The test project in Majorstua is an important step forward.
“The Oslo test is one of the first in Scandinavia and will be an important milestone towards our use of mobile phones as wallets. We are certain that contactless payment via mobile will become extremely widespread, because we all take our mobiles everywhere we go, and because it’s a secure and easy way to pay,” says Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO in Telenor, who will be one of those taking part in the test.
“One of DnB NOR’s ambitions is to lead the way in the development of digital bank services. If we are to succeed in a market in which more and more services are being integrated into mobile phones, we need to have a good, innovative partner like Telenor. The test will show how we can work together to bring the payment systems of the future to Norway,” says Rune Bjerke, CEO of DnB NOR.
“We are delighted MasterCard® PayPass(TM) is chosen as the preferred payment solution for this program. The innovative combination of mobile and contactless payments, with the use of the MasterCard Over The Air Provisioning Service (MOTAPS) gives consumers the choice of a new way to pay for everyday items that is faster and more convenient than cash, with the added feature of over the air provisioning and issuance that is seamless and secure,” says James Davlouros, Vice President Mobile Payments, MasterCard Europe.