O2 launches mobile wallet trial

British carrier O2 announced the launch of O2 Wallet, a large-scale mobile payment pilot enabling participants to pay for purchases and access events via NFC (Near Field Communications) contactless technology. The pilot, which brings together O2 partners including Nokia, Transport for London, TranSys, Barclaycard, Visa Europe and AEG, spans 500 O2 subscribers and selected sites across London, and continues through May 2008--each participant will be given a Nokia 6131 NFC handset installed with the O2 Wallet, enabling them to finance transactions including retail purchases in retail outlets and travel on London's public transport system by touching the phone to an electronic reader. All participants will be asked to submit feedback, evaluating ease of use, security and overall usefulness. O2 said it is already in discussions with partners to extend the O2 Wallet functionality to include PIN capability, large purchases and reloadable/credit funds capability.

"Research shows that people are more likely to return home if they leave their phone behind than their wallet or keys," said O2 customer director Cath Keers in a prepared statement. "So why not have your wallet on your phone? We believe that NFC technology is going to fundamentally change the way people use their mobile phones."

For more on O2 Wallet:
-read this release

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