TI unveils M-Payment
Italian telco Telecom Italia has unveiled a solution that will let customers use their mobile phone like a credit card.
Working closely with banks and finance companies, customers of Telecom Italia's mobile unit TIM will soon be able to make payments using their cellphones.
Telecom Italia's mobile payment system leverages the phone's SIM card, a chip that now has sufficient memory to perform operations previously only possible for small computers.
To use the service, customers must first go to their bank and pair their cell phone number with a bank card (either a credit card or a pre-pay card). Once the card and phone have been paired, the customer can use the phone to make purchases, remotely manage their bank account, buy travel tickets (m-ticketing), and authorize payments from their bank account (m-banking).
In addition, TIM customers will be able to use their phones to manage their virtual 'Mobile Wallet,' where they store all of their credit cards. Once a digital version of a credit card has been stored on the SIM Card, customers send a text message to a protected number to authorize payments, make purchases, or pay bills remotely. A personal code and the card PIN number are required to authorize transactions. Customers will also be able to download virtual versions of their loyalty cards (such as frequent flyer cards) and travel season tickets.
Telecom Italia expects to roll out mobile phone-based payment services this year.
Telecom Italia has also begun trials of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, which makes it possible to use mobile phones to pay for road tolls or public transport by approaching a POS, car park exit, public transport vehicle or even cinema. Cellphones and SIM cards equipped with this new application are expected to launch next year.
http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=29360
Keywords: Mobile Payments, Telecom Italia, credit card, mobile phone, M-Payment
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