M1 launches NFC mobile payment pilot

Singaporean mobile operator MobileOne Asia (M1) has launched a mobile payment pilot trial using near-field communication (NFC) technology, in partnership with Citibank and Visa. It is understood the trials will involve 300 selected users who will be able to pay for goods at 750 retail outlets across the country. M1’s foray into the mobile payment segment comes more than a year after its domestic rivals, SingTel Mobile and StarHub, launched NFC trials in late-2007. The government of Singapore is committed to developing infrastructure and services to help develop interoperability between NFC services and in February this year said it would do everything it could to ‘facilitate’ the establishment of a Trusted Third-Party (TTP) backbone.