Vodafone customers will shortly be able to use their bank cards via their smartphones under a deal struck with Visa and the software firm Carta Worldwide.
Starting from the second quarter of this year, European users of select Android smartphones can add their bank cards to Vodafone Wallet and use their mobiles like a contactless payment card, provided they use a Vodafone near-field communication SIM.
Mark Ritzmann, Head of mCommerce at Vodafone Group said: "The digital wallet just took another step forward. With a few clicks, customers will be able to add payment cards to their Vodafone Wallet and use Android smartphones to pay at contactless terminals."
Adopters of the service will also be able to check their mobile payment history through their phones and confirm ownership of the card through the Verified by Visa service.
Higher value payments will also have to be approved through a user-defined 4-digit PIN, defending the users against fraud.
"Vodafone’s announcement demonstrates the company’s confidence that it can compete with other new entrants to the payments industry, such as Apple Pay," said Anthony Duffy, director of retail banking in UK&I at Fujitsu.
"This experience will prove invaluable as it moves into payments, given that much work remains to be done in educating customers as to the advantages and benefits to be gained from making payments by mobile phone."
