NFC Times Exclusive: Following the recent announcement of a nationwide launch by BNP Paribas, at least three other major French banks plan commercial launches of NFC mobile payments in coming months, along with the expected launch of NFC payments by the banking arm of a major French retailer.
The banks will put their applications on NFC SIM cards issued by such major mobile operators as Orange and SFR, along with some of the banks’ own mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. In addition, Orange plans to launch its co-branded prepaid Orange Cash service nationally in October.
The French banks will pay SIM-rental fees to the telcos to put their Visa payWave or MasterCard PayPass compliant applets on the SIMs.