Seven French banks and four mobile telecom operators
have entered into a strategic alliance in order to work towards the
production of a mobile-payment service available across all member
banks and networks in France.

The European Association for Mobile Payment (AEPM), made up of
BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole-LCL, Crédit Mutuel-CIC, Société
Générale, La Banque Postale, le Group Caisse d’Epargne and le
Groupe Banque Populaire as well as Bouygues Télécom, Orange, SFR
and NRJ Mobile, was launched following a successful trial in Caen
and Strasbourg.

BNP Paribas said more than 80 percent of customers appreciated
the “speed and cutting-edge appeal” of the contactless mobile
payments. Almost 500 sales outlets are now equipped with the
contactless readers, with individual payments made in the opening
months of the trial ranging from €0.20 to €250. The not-for-profit
AEPM will continue the trial into 2009.