New Zealand NFC partners to begin field trial

Auckland Transport, Telecom New Zealand and financial services group Westpac have announced they are now ready to begin their first NFC field trial.

Auckland Transport, Westpac and Telecom NZ

Announced in April, the trial is being run in collaboration with Gemalto, Thales and payments services provider Paymark. “The six organisations have worked together to develop a virtual mobile wallet that can hold multiple cards — including a credit card and transport card,” the partners say. A proof of concept has been developed and a pilot involving thirty participants in Auckland is now ready to commence.

“Learnings from this next trial phase are expected to enable the collaboration partners to further build on the proof of concept and develop an even wider and more valuable mobile wallet proposition for consumers,” they explain.

“This mobile wallet trial is another step towards a full rollout of NFC technology within New Zealand. It comes off the back of Paymark, Telecom New Zealand, 2Degrees and Vodafone New Zealand’s announcement in April 2012 of their intention to form a trusted services manager (TSM), which will establish a robust, open ecosystem for NFC-enabled New Zealand.

“Over the next three to five years, mobiles will become our customers’ key banking tool for transactions, product research and other banking needs,” says Westpac’s chief information officer Peter Fletcher. “Westpac is committed to delivering a market leading mobile proposition and the mobile wallet trial is an important step as we help Kiwis move towards a mobile banking future.”

Next: Visit the NFCW Expo to find new suppliers and solutions