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Den Haag, 9-9-10

Banks and mobile operators join forces

Amsterdam, 9 September 2010 – This week ABN AMRO, ING, KPN, Rabobank, T-Mobile and Vodafone signed a letter of intent to jointly introduce mobile payments at the checkout in the Netherlands. It is the first time that major banks and mobile operators in a European country have joined forces with regard to mobile payments. In recent months a study has been conducted which concludes that it is technically and commercially feasible to introduce mobile payments in the Netherlands. The six companies plan to set up a joint venture to facilitate mobile payments which fosters the ease and use and, above all, safe mobile payments in the Netherlands.

Many different parties are involved in providing this type of mobile payment service. In terms of ease of use as well as safety it is essential to create a single uniform system for mobile transactions in the Netherlands, based on international standards. To bring this about, the six companies plan to set up a joint venture. By affiliating themselves to the system, all banks, mobile providers and other service providers will ultimately be able to provide their services by telephone.

Pay with your mobile phone at the checkout
It is expected that in 2012 it will be possible to pay easily and safely at the checkout with your mobile phone. Instead of paying with their bank card, customers will simply hold their mobile phone against the store’s point-of-sale terminal and the payment will be made within seconds. The mobile phone communicates remotely over a distance of a couple of centimeters with the point-of-sale terminal on the counter. This ‘contactless’ communication uses NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, the global standard for this type of application. The payment software itself is located in a secure part of the SIM-card in the user’s phone. No payment information is sent over the mobile network.