Vodafone has become the latest mobile operator to launch a mobile wallet service that will allow customers to pay for goods or services with a touch or wave of their smartphone.
Launched today for Vodafone customers in Spain with a supported Android device – to be followed by a roll out in Germany in mid-December and the Netherlands, UK, and Italy in Spring next year – the Vodafone Wallet app can also integrate travel cards, loyalty cards, gift cards and vouchers.
The first payment app available for the Wallet is Vodafone SmartPass, developed in partnership with Visa, which uses funds you load on from your bank account to pay for goods.
For customers without an NFC-capable phone, Vodafone says they can apply for an NFC tag to stick to the back of their handset to use in conjunction with the SmartPass app.
In the UK, rival mobile network EE also offers a similar Wallet service to its customers, although it currently has no NFC tag alternative for customers with an incompatible smartphone. Quite what happened to plans for O2, EE and Vodafone to partner for a mobile wallet service is another question altogether.
Featured Image Credit – Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images
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