Norwegian telco Telenor and local bank DNB are to launch the country's first nationwide mobile payments service, 'Tap2Pay'.
Operating under the aegis of TSM Nordic, a 50/50 joint venture between Telenor and DNB established in 2008, the bank and telco first launched a pilot project in Oslo in 2011. In August, the company showcased its Valyou NFC mobile wallet at the Mobile World Congress show, with a promise to begin live operation in Q4 2013.
For the full-scale commercial launch, the JV has selected Giesecke & Devrient to provide remote management of the secure element and NFC SIM cards to the platform. French tech outfit Gemalto will provide its Allynis TSM Hub as well as integration and deployment support to offer a mix of mobile contactless payments at the point-of-sale, alongside coupons, loyalty programs and transit ticketing.
The hub is intended to act as a single connection point from which mobile operators, banks, public transport authorities and other service providers can plug into to provide and manage services across an interoperable eco-system, which is expected to extend across the Nordic region in the longer term.
TSM Nordic has already signed up Skandiabanken, Entercard, Sparebank1 Alliansen and Fana Sparebank ahead of the launch.