SIM-based NFC Payments Pilot Runs at MWC

The GSM Association (GSMA), Samsung Electronics, Telefnica and Visa, together with Giesecke & Devrient, Ingenico, mobile data management firm ITN International, and La Caixa, have announced the arrival of contactless mobile payments, as the companies unveiled the result of months of collaboration and brought the first ever SIM-based NFC payments pilot to Mobile World Congress.
The participating companies have provided more than 400 NFC handsets to guests for use at the Congress. The Samsung Star NFC handsets contain Telefnica SIM cards from O2, pre-loaded with 60 airtime credit, as well as a La Caixa Visa Mobile Payment Application. Participants can use their NFC phones to pay for food and drink up to a value of 75 at over 30 merchant locations around the Congress.
It is a fantastic achievement to bring a full payment trial to Mobile World Congress and a testament to the hard work of the partners that this cross-industry collaboration has worked so well, says GSMA Chief Marketing Officer, Michael OHara. Mobile operators have been requesting SIM-based NFC handsets for some time now, and its great to see such progress in this area. Now that the handsets are coming, we can expect to see a number of commercial launches of mobile SIM-based NFC services this year.
Participants in the trial will be able to buy food and drink, simply by holding their Samsung NFC mobile phone against the contactless terminal at the participating merchants to pay for purchases under 10. Purchases above 10 require a passcode which the participant keys into the handset before presenting it to the terminal. The transactions are authorised online, with funds deducted from a La Caixa Visa account.   
The partners have worked to bring the NFC experience to Mobile World Congress with the intention of raising awareness of the technology in anticipation of the commercial launch of these SIM-based handsets in the very near future. As more of the SIM-based handsets become commercially available it will help trigger global adoption and rollout of mobile NFC, the companies believe.