EFTPOS to trial mobile wallets on Aussie retailers

EFTPOS has teamed up with mobile transactions technology firm C-SAM to kick off mobile payment trials with selected Australian retailers. EFTPOS is the most widely used debit card system in Australia, and this move is part of the company's three-year transformation program to ensure that EFTPOS remains competitive in the future.

The five-year partnership will see C-SAM provide EFTPOS mobile wallet and a near-field communications (NFC) widget catered to the Australian market. EFTPOS is also looking to enable services such as offers and transfer of receipts with the help of C-SAM.

The technology firm is providing a platform by which EFTPOS can offer smartphone users secure NFC mobile wallet transactions.

An EFTPOS spokesperson told ZDNet that the company is unable to reveal which retailers will be in the trials, because agreements have yet to be finalised, but said that around 10 retailers across different industries will be involved.

The EFTPOS mobile wallet and NFC widget will be developed as a white label product to fast track their adoption. This approach will make it easier for Australian retailers and financial institutions to implement them, according to EFTPOS CEO Bruce Mansfield.

"This agreement will enable EFTPOS to move into proof-of-concept trials very quickly, to test various solutions for the Australian market," he said at the Combined Payments and Retail Conference in Melbourne on Monday. "We want to make sure any new technology we offer on mobile devices is going to provide financial institutions, retailers, and consumers with secure, accessible, and affordable payment solutions they have come to expect from EFTPOS."

In February, Samsung and Visa teamed up in a global partnership to boost uptake of NFC mobile payments.

There are still many smartphones on the market that are not equipped with NFC, most notably the iPhone 5, but more handsets are being released with NFC in mind.