HEADLINE NEWS
Spain: Telefónica Employee Trial to Test BlackBerrys for Payment and ID
Telefónica has adapted its mobile wallet to run on at least three NFC-enabled BlackBerry models from Research In Motion that support a single-wire protocol connection to SIM cards in the phones–the BlackBerry Bold 9900, Curve 9360 and recently announced Curve 9380. The telco said 350 employees at its headquarters complex in Madrid will be able to tap the phones to make payments on campus and likely beyond and also to enter their offices with a physical access control application. The trial appears to be an expansion of an NFC pilot launched last March at the headquarters.
Telefónica, a large telco group, is a strong backer of NFC and has plans for commercial rollouts in 2012 in Spain and at its O2 branches in Europe. It also reportedly plans a trial in Brazil early in 2012. The plans mesh with RIM’s desire to sell more phones and apparently to work with mobile operators to enable SIM-based payment applications.
* Trusted Service Manager: Defined loosely to include companies or other organizations securely distributing, provisioning and managing applications, generally over the air, on secure elements in NFC mobile phones; or licensing their platforms for this purpose.
N/A: Not available or not applicable.
Last update: Nov. 2011
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedInSyndicate
