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France-based Oberthur Technologies announced today it has won a contract to supply trusted service management to French bank Société Générale, for the bank’s eventual roll out of NFC payment.

While Oberthur’s announcement said Société Générale would roll out NFC services in France this year, it remains unclear just how large the commercial service will be, though is likely to remain small in 2012.

TSMs for banks and other service providers handle the download and lifecycle management of applications, such as payment, which the service providers issue for NFC phones. The applications are stored on secure elements, which in France will most likely be SIM cards issued by mobile operators.

Oberthur also is serving as TSM for another large bank on its home turf of France, BNP Paribas, for that bank's launch of mobile payment with a Visa payWave application in the French city of Nice. BNP Paribas joined the NFC demonstration project in Nice last year.

Oberthur has also served as TSM for French mobile operators SFR and Bouygues Telecom in Nice. Rival smart card vendor and TSM Gemalto provides TSM services for French bank Crédit Mutuel-CIC and operator Orange for the project. The French NFC projects, or large trials, are moving to such cities as Caen, Strasbourg and Bordeaux this year.

Oberthur, which is the second largest smart card vendor worldwide after Gemalto, is a large suppler of banking cards and personalization services in France and beyond. Most banks launching mobile payment on NFC phones are expected to stay with the vendors that personalize their banking cards if those vendors also offer TSM services.