News

Mastercard and Deutsche Telekom in mobile payments tie-up

Mastercard and Deutsche Telekom have teamed up to enable consumers to use their mobile phones as payment devices.

The partnership aims to bring mobile payments to 93 million of Deutsche Telekom’s customers across Europe. It will initially be rolled out in Poland later this year.

The service will also be introduced in Germany with a trial of mobile phone tags and cards which will continue into the first half of 2013 with a mobile wallet service. The mobile wallet will be open to other issuing banks and partners.

“This is a huge step on our way to increase mobile payments,” says Deutsche Telekom chief product and innovation officer Thomas Kiessling. “We want to build a comprehensive ecosystem around mobile payment, helping Telekom to realize its strategy of being the first choice for customers regarding connected life and work.”

In June, Orange announced it was to roll out a SIM card-based near field communications (NFC) solution in Europe to prepare for the boom in mobile contactless services. By having payment transactions occur on the SIM card, both NFC and mobile payments can be accorded the same security as paying with a regular debit or credit card. The mobile wallet services being introduced by Deutsche Telekom and Mastercard have each transaction confirmed with the user via text message.

“The payment space continues to be ripe for innovation, particularly at a time when we’re seeing an accelerating movement away from cash driven by technology,” says Mastercard Worldwide president of international markets Ann Cairns. “MasterCard’s heritage is rooted in the creation of open technology, designed for everyone wanting to benefit from a more convenient and secure shopping experience.”

David Hing, London