Slovakian Bank UniCredit Slovakia has turned to Gemalto for the first instance of commercial mobile payments in the country. 

The bank is using Gemaltos Optelia contactless sticker system, which has achieved MasterCard certification. The Optelio sticker is a microprocessor-based secure personal device that allows handsets that do not have contactless features built-in to make mobile payments. By attaching the Optelio contactless sticker to their mobile phone, UniCredit customers will be able to use the contactless feature on payments under €20 (around £18), while larger amount transactions will require a PIN. 

Gemalto says there are over 3,000 acceptance points installed in Slovakia, including fast food restaurants, cinemas and supermarkets. 

“The MasterCard Paypass sticker, which we named StickAir, is another unique product modelled upon requests and needs of customers of UniCredit Bank,” says Monika Kohútová, head of retail banking division of UniCredit Bank. “It can be issued in relation to any current account open with UniCredit Bank and our customers can affix the StickAir wherever they want, like for example to the rear of their cell phone. Consumers are already accustomed to swiping their travel card to ride the public transportation in Slovakia so we believe contactless technology will also gain user adoption in the payment domain.”

“Moving to contactless is more than just changing the technology, it is also changing long-standing consumer habits,” says Christoph Siegelin, vice president of sales, Central Europe at Gemalto. “By turning any handset into a payment device, Optelio contactless sticker makes the speed and convenience of mobile contactless payments available for UniCredit to deploy immediately.”