UK: 500 people trial special mobile handsets to pay for train and bus fares in London

Five hundred people have been given special handsets fitted with a built-in credit card and Oyster card, the device used to pay for train and bus tickets in the capital. When the phone is passed over a scanner in stations or shops, money is deducted from the mobile phone as payment. Shoppers will be able to buy Tube tickets and newspapers with a wave of their mobile phone rather than cash during a trial starting in London on Wednesday (November 28). Five hundred people have been given special handsets fitted with a built-in credit card and Oyster card, the device used to pay for train and bus tickets in the capital. When the phone is passed over a scanner in stations or shops, money is deducted from the mobile phone as payment, the trial's organisers said. People can spend up to 10 pounds at a time at selected shops and cafes, including Coffee Republic, Threshers and Books Etc. Wireless transactions are common in some countries where consumers already use mobiles to pay for everything from burgers to train tickets. iN Japan, this mobile payment option has been available for a couple of years, so in that sense the UK is lagging in its embrace of what are known as near field communications, or NFC. But the head of Nokia's Emerging Business Unit Richard Humbach says Britain could potentially leap-frog Japan in this field if the partners find adequate rewards in working together. "Everyone who travels in London uses the Oyster card. The contactless is just starting so I think as time goes forward we'll see that roll out in more and more places. I'm convinced it's a good service for the consumers and for the merchants. And then we have all the other bits, the O2 dome and all these different kind of things. And at the end I think it will be a more powerful proposition than in Japan because everyone will be able to use it. You won't be limited to having a certain type of bank with a certain type of phone but rather any phone, any bank, any operator will be able to use NFC," Humbach said. Organisers say that if the six-month London trial is a success the scheme could be extended to include bigger payments, more shops and concerts and plays. Those taking part will receive 50 pounds worth of Oyster journeys, 60 pounds off their O2 phone bill and 200 pounds to spend with the in-built Barclaycard. The companies behind the trial include Transport for London, mobile phone firm O2, Barclaycard, Visa Europe, and Nokia. Even if the trial goes extremely well, this technology is not expected to be in the hands of regular UK consumers before the end of 2008.

ITN Source | November 30, 2007

Tags:. .stations. .credit. .mobiles. .europe. .concerts