Mobile-payments trial kicks off in Spain

Residents of the Spanish city of Sitges, near Barcelona, are participating in Europe's largest mobile-wallet trial.

Instead of handing over cash or a card at the end of a shopping trip, 1,500 locals are getting the chance to pay for their purchases by swiping their mobile phone over a contactless reader at the till.

The handset that participants are using during the pilot is the Samsung Touch Star, pictured above.

The device contains an NFC (near-field communications) antenna, which allows it to make contactless payments.

Unlike in a 2008 London mobile-wallet pilot, the handsets are not pre-loaded with cash but are linked to the trial participants' existing bank accounts — which means they are spending their own money and making the trial more commercially realistic.

Photo credit: Natasha Lomas/silicon.com