Press Releases

Budapest, July 25, 2011 10:00

Magyar Telekom, Telenor and Vodafone have joined arm-in-arm with three market leader operators - MasterCard, OTP Bank and SuperShop - to establish the Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association. The aim of the Association is to design and articulate as a recommendation the prerequisite technological standards for mobile NFC services and to submit proposals towards the successful implementation of the service, to ensure that partners may freely join the service as well as to implement the necessary education related to the implementation of the innovative mobile NFC services.

Mobile phones appear in increasingly new areas of life as devices for everyday use. Following the internet, e-books and tracking information via the mobile phone 2011 can be looked upon as a turning point for mobile NFC (Near Field Communication) services entering the market. Last year a great number of devices capable of using NFC services appeared in the market and, globally, several test applications have also been used to test the implementation of commercial services.

Designed to operate over very short distances, a few centimetres at the most, Near Field Communication is a wireless switching technology, which facilitates contactless communication and exchange of data between two or even several devices over a secure channel.

The underlying philosophy behind NFC services is actually very simple: every card and cash substituting device of payment we currently keep in our wallet can "move" into mobile phones. The use of contactless bank cards (e.g. PayPass) through the mobile phone constitutes only one pillar of such services, and equally important is the embodiment in an electronic form of loyalty cards, coupons, travel and entrance tickets. Services that are based on NFC technology are capable to ensure new and highly attractive customer experience through their speed, ease of use, innovative features and the possibilities provided by the large and interactive screen of the mobile phone.

For the service to become universal its availability for use at an increasingly higher number of places is of key importance, independently from which MNO's telephone the customer is using. The establishment of the prerequisite ecosystem requires the cooperation of all players. International experiences also testify that the implementation of NFC services constitutes an important phase in which MNOs are able to work with each other and with other market players and that successful implementation depends on cooperation.

Magyar Telekom, Telenor and Vodafone have recognised this need and the importance to cooperate and they have joined arm-in-arm with three market leader operators - MasterCard, OTP Bank and SuperShop - to establish the Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association. The aim of the Association is to design and articulate as a recommendation the prerequisite technological standards for mobile NFC services and to submit proposals towards the successful implementation of the service, to ensure that partners may freely join the service as well as to implement the necessary education related to the implementation of the innovative mobile NFC services.

This united move of Hungary's MNOs may ensure that Hungary will be among the first countries where mobile NFC services may be launched in Europe. The previously articulated plans of the 6 market players feature test applications and, subsequently, commercial applications to be launched in 2011 and, respectively, 2012.