Oyster brand and credit crunch to hit O2 mobile wallet?

"Big enough opportunity to knock other things off the list?"

Any rollout of Oyster-enabled mobile phones could be delayed following Transport for London's decision to terminate its contract with the TranSys consortium last month.

Mobile operator O2 announced the results of a six-month trial of the travelcard-enabled mobiles last month, concluding there is consumer appetite to use phones as a Tube ticket replacement.

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However, O2 UK CEO Ronan Dunne told silicon.com that intellectual property issues around the Oyster brand stemming from last month's contract termination could delay a commercial launch of an Oyster mobile.

He said: "We're dependent on all of the other providers so it would be a decision by TfL about what they want to do with the Oyster card and that may be delayed by some local difficulties they're having in that space at the moment."

A TfL spokesman confirmed TranSys, which will continue to run the Oyster ticketing system for the next two years, owns the Oyster brand but added: "TfL will ensure continuity of the brand in any future arrangement." The spokesman declined further comment.

O2's CEO also believes current economic gloom could put the brakes on any mobile wallet rollout over the coming years, as financial companies look to cut back on investments.

According to Dunne, in light of the credit crunch financial institutions will be pressed to ask: "Is this a big enough opportunity early enough for it to knock some other things off the list, [especially in a climate] when people are cutting back on investment?"

"We as a business are very much in a growth and investment mode - and we continue to do very well despite the fact that the economy has slowed down - but different sectors will be impacted more than we will and that might slow down timing in some of those areas," he added.

Discussing a possible timeframe for a commercial launch of Oyster-enabled mobiles, the O2 boss said the operator is currently focused on getting backing from all the different service providers needed to ensure the service would appeal to users.

"We've not set down any specific milestones that we expect to pass at this stage," he said. "What we want to do is get the forum [of vendors involved in the NFC service] together first and define what the art of the possible is."

Check back shortly for more from silicon.com's exclusive interview with O2 UK CEO Ronan Dunne.