Singapore jumps on mobile payment bandwagon

Singapore’s regulator the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has called on the telecoms industry to work together to develop a platform for mobile payment services, with the hope that Singaporeans will benefit from such services by 2012. The plan it says, will fall under the broad remit of the IDA’s Next Generation e-Payment Programme, which aims to accelerate the adoption of mobile payment services using near field communication (NFC) technology. As such, the regulator intends to create ‘a secure, interoperable and scalable NFC infrastructure that provides an open and cost effective means for service providers to provide NFC mobile services to any mobile subscriber.’ Consultation on the plan will close on 1 February 2011 and a contract will be awarded in May or June. The IDA has reportedly set a target of 30,000 NFC subscribers within two years of launch.