A report in todays Evening Standard suggests that Londoners could be using their mobile phones as Oyster and credit cards as early as next year. The news follows a successful 6-month trial conducted by O2 using Nokia 6131 NFC (Near Field Communications) handsets loaded with the O2 Wallet which concluded in May.
The trial involved over 500 people invited from the O2 customer base. They were able to use their phone as an Oyster card to travel on public transport in London, simply by touching the phone on a card reader. Some of the triallists were also able to use the growing number of contactless payment readers at retailers such as Books etc., Coffee Republic and YO! Sushi, to purchase goods for 10 or under by tapping their phone on a secure reader. In addition to O2 and Nokia, Transport for London, TranSys, Barclaycard, Visa Europe and AEG were also involved in the trial. 
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