Digital security specialist Gemalto has revealed that PTK Centertel, an Orange group affiliate, is deploying the largest NFC program in Poland, with a commercial offer targeting several thousand users. The new initiative reinforces Gemalto’s active role in Orange Group’s NFC expansion strategy, with deployments in the UK, France and now, Poland.

The program, the first commercial NFC pilot in the country, offers PTK Centertel’s customers the convenience of using their mobile phone to securely pay for goods and services with a wave of their handset. Consumers will benefit from Poland’s established contactless infrastructure of approximately 35,000 acceptance points, in fast food restaurants, cinemas, supermarkets and retailers.

Gemalto provided an end-to-end solution that includes NFC software and user interface applications, securely embedded on an NFC SIM, and Trusted Service Management (TSM) services. PTK Centertel and its partnering bank have entrusted Gemalto with the operation of the TSM platform, to securely personalize and manage the payment application on the device over the air.

“With a number of large-scale rollouts around the world, Gemalto is definitely the trusted reference for mobile NFC implementation,” says Krzysztof Sieczkowski, product and content development director for PTK Centertel. “We need a complete solution to speed up our time-to-market, and leverage the strong contactless payment network already existing in Poland to make our consumer the first to benefit from the NFC experience.”