Wednesday, 5 September 2007

Singapore Enters Mobile Payment Market

Singapore’s leading electronic payment provider NETS and Asia’s leading communications provider, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) have taken a giant step into the mobile payment market with the republic’s first Near Field...

Singapore’s leading electronic payment provider NETS and Asia’s leading communications provider, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) have taken a giant step into the mobile payment market with the republic’s first Near Field Communication (NFC) trials.

The NFC trials include a stored value wallet with Over-The-Air (OTA) capability which covers wireless download and tops ups of stored value to NFC phones.

NFC is a combination of identification and wireless technologies that enable an NFC device to “talk” to another NFC or NFC-compatible device. NFC is based on an industry and ISO standard by the NFC Forum comprising major phone manufacturers.

Under the payment solution being planned, SingTel users will need to download a mNETS application, which will allow them to store and top up value on the mNETS payment application in their phones any time. Users will then be able to make payments Using NETS FlashPay by flashing their SingTel mobile phones at NETS contactless terminals islandwide.

At a joint press conference Tuesday, NETS and Singtel told journalists that with this new innovation, consumers stand to experience a more convenient and quicker method of payment. They will also be eligible for various other incentives such as discount coupons and be kept in the loop when attractive promotions come by. Merchants will also benefit as the new solution will serve as an effective marketing tool to reach out to a wider customer base.

The six month trial, which will start off in September as an internal project within NETS and SingTel staff and then be made available to the public later on this year will only see a commercial launch sometime in 2008.

Users can top up a maximum of SGD 40 per phone, per day, using their pre-registered credit cards from the three leading banks in Singapore, DBS, OCBC and UOB.

They will be able to use this service in some 400 terminals at participating merchants, including convenience stores such as Cheers and Fairprice Xpress, and entertainment joints like K Box, Cathay Cineplex and Yoshinoya Restaurants.

Currently only the NFC enabled Nokia 6131 is compatible for this service. Singtel said it is still working with other handset manufacturers to expand its mobile offerings which is part of its 2008 roadmap but declined to name some of the handset makers it is in talks with.

During the conference, Singtel stressed to reporters the security aspect of this solution citing an example that should a situation arise when the consumer looses his mobile, all he would have to do is contact Singtel and the telco will ensure that the application is locked in the phone and will not be able to be exploited by a third party.

Korea and Japan have already jumped onto the mobile payment bandwagon and SingTel believes that Singapore, which has more than a 100 percent mobile penetration rate, will soon integrate mobile payments as part of its lifestyle thus, speeding up the nation’s move towards a cashless society.

“The NFC will be the next big thing for electronic payments. We anticipate that… we will be looking at three out of ten mobile phones being NFC-compatible in 2012 and users can use mNETS services to make contactless payments,” said Ms Poh Mui Hoon, NETS CEO.