In collaboration with DBS, EZ-Link and MasterCard, StarHub today unveils its Near Field Communication (NFC) app "SmartWallet", a seamless and secure digital wallet service.
StarHub, DBS and EZ-Link are part of the consortium which received IDA's NFC Call for Collaboration award in October 2011, to develop an interoperable mobile NFC infrastructure and mobile payment services in Singapore.
"We are excited to make NFC digital wallet a reality with the launch of our SmartWallet smartphone app," says Mr Chan Kin Hung, Head of Marketing & Products, StarHub. "We believe that our next-generation SmartWallet will bring simplicity to everyday life, enhancing our customers' lives at work, at home and at play. By partnering DBS, EZ-Link and MasterCard, we enable our SmartWallet users to shop, enjoy discounts, skip queues at the cinemas, pay for transport trips, and use their digital credit or debit cards securely with a single tap of an NFC-enabled smartphone."
Contactless Payment Services
StarHub's SmartWallet will allow its mobile customers to enjoy the convenience of using three contactless payment cards on an NFC enabled smartphone - DBS One.Tap, NFC ez-link purse and NFC FEVO Pre-paid MasterCard.
SmartWallet will offer users a virtual DBS MasterCard PayPassTM card called One.Tap. With just one tap of the smartphone, customers can pay for goods or services quickly and securely at more than 20,000 DBS and MasterCard PayPass merchant partners in Singapore. Existing DBS cardmembers can apply for One.Tap at any time through DBS Internet or mobile banking.
"DBS regards the mobile platform as an important customer touchpoint. The introduction of more highly sophisticated NFC enabled smartphones will make it easier for our customers to adopt this new technology. As Singapore's leading bank with over four million customers and more than one million downloads for our mobile banking apps, we are proud to add NFC to our comprehensive suite of mobile banking solutions that include online banking, protection, rewards and payments. Through our ongoing innovation, we are well-positioned tto drive the adoption of NFC islandwide and are very excited to launch DBS One.Tap, our new NFC virtual credit card, later this month. We believe this initiative will further enhance our customers' experience and offer them greater convenience," says Mr Sim S Lim, Country Manager of DBS Singapore.
SmartWallet users can also tap their smartphones to make retail payment with NFC ez-link purse wherever EZ-Link card payments are accepted, as well as to make payment at MasterCard merchant locations for NFC FEVO Pre-paid MasterCard issued by EZ-Link.
"Singapore ranks first amongst 34 countries in the MasterCard Mobile Payment Readiness Index, an indication that the foundation is firmly in place for mobile payments to take off. With MasterCard PayPass on mobile devices in Singapore, cardholders can look forward to enjoying the benefits of contactless mobile payments," says Ms Julienne Loh, Vice President and Country Manager, Singapore, MasterCard Worldwide.
"With the integration of the NFC-enabled ez-link and FEVO MasterCard prepaid purses into SmartWallet, StarHub customers can now use their mobile phones with ease to access a wide range of retail services, making payments across any of the EZ-Link and MasterCard merchant acceptance points," says Mr Nicholas Lee, Chief Executive Officer, EZ-Link Pte Ltd. "EZ-link is proud to partner with StarHub to equip our consumers with this technology which opens a whole new world of diverse lifestyle possibilities for them."
Contactless Lifestyle Services (Coupons)
The SmartWallet app makes browsing, downloading and redeeming virtual coupons a seamless experience for customers. They can redeem coupons to enjoy discounts and deals instantly with just one tap of the smartphone, while making a purchase at DBS and MasterCard partner merchants, such as Comfort Taxi, G2000, Pasta Mania, Watsons Convenience Stores, FOX Apparels, Pumpkin Patch, Toys R Us, PastaMania, Popeye's Louisana Kitchen, Quiznos, Coldstone Creamery and Shaw Theatres, among others.
"Shaw Theatres has been embracing new cinema technologies such as the IMAX Digital Theatre System to offer our patrons better experiences. Our partnership with StarHub to offer NFC services will allow us to improve payment modes on our ticketing platform. We hope this will give our technology savvy customers more options in their transactions with Shaw Theatres," says Mr Mark Shaw, Executive Vice President of Operations, Shaw Theatres.
Additional payment functionalities will soon include the use of SmartWallet to apply for, store and manage cards from various payment schemes, including those offered by DBS, EZ-Link, MasterCard and Visa, from the smartphone anytime, anywhere. In addition, a whole host of new lifestyle services will soon enable customers to buy and download electronic tickets to movies and events, earn and redeem loyalty points, top up StarHub Mobile pre-paid cards, and pay for bus and train trips, among others.
Availability
SmartWallet and its contactless payment and lifestyle services will be commercially launched later this month. To start using SmartWallet, customers with an NFC enabled smartphone will need to convert to a StarHub NFC SIM card and subscribe to the free StarHub NFC value-added service. They can then go to Google Play to download the SmartWallet app.
Sony Xperia Sola (carried exclusively by StarHub), Samsung Galaxy S lll and Sony Xperia S are three NFC enabled Android smartphone models approved for secure NFC payment service by various global payment standards authorities. The list of NFC compatible smartphone models will be expanded progressively. For customers' convenience, StarHub will pre-load the SmartWallet app in approved smartphone models sold at StarHub Shops and authorised dealers.
For customers to experience contactless lifestyle services, StarHub will offer a new way to instantly enjoy StarHub Music Store goodies at launch. SmartWallet users will just need to tap their NFC enabled smartphone on StarHub's Smart Posters displayed at selected StarHub Shops and StarHub's roadshows to download a mystery music track for free.