Banca Intesa Sanpaolo is partnering with Italian wireless operator Nòverca to pilot contactless mobile payments in Milan and Turin.
The bank is running the technology tests with 600 staff and customers, using more than 3000 point-of-sale terminals installed at shops, cafes and supermarkets. The specially-equipped terminals have been donated by Setefi, the payment institution of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group.
Banca Intesa Sanpaolo is providing the pilot participants - who also include employees of the universities of Milan and Turin - with Samsung Wave S5780 smartphones for the duration of the project.
The phones have been equipped with NFC-enabled SIMs embedded with MasterCard PayPass contactless technology supplied by Germany's Giesecke & Devrient.