German cooperative bank Dortmunder Volksbank is introducing a contactless mobile payments system that taps Telefónica's O2Wallet.
Telefónica inked a deal last year with DG Verlag - a systems integrator owned by Germany's cooperative banks - agreeing to collaborate on mobile payments.
Dortmunder Volksbank is the first to try out the technology, with customers who have a Telefónica contract, the O2Wallet, a Samsung Galaxy ACE2 or S3 handset, and a related NFC SIM.
Users with all of these things can store a virtual credit card in the O2Wallet and use it to make purchases of up to EUR25 at MasterCard PayPass terminals with a tap of their handset. For larger transactions, users also need to enter a PIN.
Giesecke & Devrient is providing its Trusted Service Manager technology, ensuring that the payment application and data are transferred via the mobile network to a secure element on the SIM card using a multiply encrypted connection.
DG Verlag will monitor the system's success before deciding on whether to roll it out to other cooperative banks.