Aussie telcos prep for mobile payments
Australian telcos Telstra and Vodafone are predicting that 2013 will be the year when mobile payments gain a real foothold down under. The reason: a rising number of NFC-enabled mobile phones that will bring contactless payment capability to a broader consumer base.
In a report by The Australian, Telstra chief technology officer Dr. Hugh Bradlow said that in 2013, far more mobile devices equipped with NFC chips would become available to consumers.
"It's been promised for a long time, but by next year many devices on the market will incorporate near field communication," Bradlow told The Australian. "NFC has been a slow burn, but it will likely become entrenched next year and we plan to be a big part of that."
Vodaphone said that 80 percent of phones sold for use on its network would be NFC-enabled, capable of making contactless payments using a mobile wallet-style app. In fact, the company has said that within a few months it will release its own payment app, SmartPass, which will tie into the Visa Paywave network.
Still, getting adoption of mobile payments to the tipping point will depend on consumer attitudes, Australian National Retailers Association CEO Margy Osmond told The Australian. "I think it's comforting that smartphones will have the capacity to do it this [in 2013], but retailers will move at the speed customers are comfortable with."
For more on this topic, visit the contactless/NFC research center.