OCBC Bank’s head of debit cards Kenneth Tan
has revealed that the bank is considering launching an NFC-enabled
mobile payments service.
The service is likely to be rolled out first
in Singapore and later in Southeast Asia.
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Tan said that the “time is ripe” to
provide a payment alternative for technology savvy
consumers, given the high rate of mobile phone penetration and
the increased introduction of new NFC-enabled mobile phones in the
market.
“The phone will become the effective
‘card’ for all payments – and no one leaves his house these
days without his phone,” said Tan.
He added: “The rate of NFC payment adoption is
limited by acceptance points, but we see huge possibilities ahead
even as more contactless payment terminals are rolled out to the
market.”
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By GlobalDataWorking with NETS
Asked whether OCBC Bank might collaborate with
telcos or other players in an NFC-enabled mobile payments service,
Tan said OCBC is working with NETS on the issue.
He added that OCBC Bank is keeping its options
open in terms of the operating model for any mobile payments launch
and this would also depend on customers’ needs.
The time is certainly ripe for a mobile
payments service to be launched in Singapore as the Infocomm
Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore has issued a
call-for-collaboration (CFC) to invite proposals from consortiums
for the deployment of an interoperable mobile NFC infrastructure
and payment services via a trusted-third-party.
According to a public briefing document
released by the IDA, the closing date for submissions was 1
February 2011.
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