Mobile network operator PTC has begun Poland’s first NFC payments trial, in collaboration with Inteligo, an online bank owned by PKO Bank Polski, and MasterCard.

The trial began on 20 May and will run for four months. One hundred customers of both Inteligo and PTC’s Era mobile service, including a number of VIPs and journalists, are taking part in the trial. Each participant has been provided with a Samsung S5230 NFC phone, branded as Avila in Poland. Other suppliers taking part in the trial include Giesecke & Devrient and Venyon.

Transactions valued at up to PLN 50 (about €12) can be made without a PIN and a daily transaction limit of PLN 300 (about €70) has been set, although this can be increased at the customer’s request. For larger purchases, customers have to enter their PIN at the sales outlet’s POS terminal to authorise the transaction.

Adoption of contactless debit cards and POS terminals is moving fast in Poland and the trial participants can use their NFC phones at any of 10,000 PayPass acceptance points around the country. These include cafés, restaurants and fast food outlets, bookshops, Shell petrol stations, Żabka convenience stores, Sferis computer stores and Kolporter media and newspaper stands as well as some sports stadiums and taxis.

PTC is the third largest mobile network operator in Poland and is 93% owned by T-Mobile. Last year, it partnered with Polbank EFG for the introduction of a co-branded PayPass contactless sticker that can be attached to the back of a customer’s mobile phone. The card is linked to the customer’s bank account and offers standard PayPass debit card functionality.

Next month, mobile network operator Polkomtel and BZ WBK bank are also set to begin an NFC payments trial. The five hundred participants in the trial will receive Samsung Avila phones which will be loaded over the air with a Visa PayWave application.

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