O2 wallet app paves the way for contactless payment

O2 UK is to launch a mobile wallet app in the second half of this year, containing a suite of mobile-payment options.

Contactless payments, using near-field communications (NFC) technology, will also be added to the operator's mobile-payment mix this year — although O2 plans to launch the wallet app first. "Contactless is just part and parcel of what the O2 wallet's all about," said James Le Brocq, head of O2's financial services division. "I'm going to provision a load of services in the second half of this year which, as and when the time is right, we will also make contactless."

At a briefing in London on Wednesday, Le Brocq said the operator envisages various services living in the mobile wallet app, including a shopping service for browsing and buying physical goods, mobile money transfer between individuals, and top-up options — initially for airtime but which he said could be extended to include bill payments and more in future.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see O2 mobile wallet to land in second half of 2011 on silicon.com.