CSOB, T-MOBILE AND MASTERCARD LAUNCH PILOT OPERATION OF NFC PAYMENTS

The pilot operation will run until May 2014 and will involve 500 participants
Payments are made by waving a phone in front of a contactless terminal
NFC is supported by one in three terminals in the Czech Republic

Prague, 22 October 2013 – In October CSOB, in cooperation with T-Mobile and MasterCard, launched pilot operation of contactless NFC payments via smartphones. The unique NFC (Near Field Communication) technology allows wireless communication with payment terminals. Until May 2014, the service will be tested by 400 CSOB clients (including clients of the bank’s Era brand) together with 100 employees of the bank and T-Mobile.

“NFC payments are a type of contactless payments where customers pay for their purchases by merely waving their phones with an installed virtual payment card in front of a terminal. The card can be securely downloaded and managed over the air. The aim of the pilot operation is to verify whether our clients would be interested in this type of payments and learn their opinion on it, as well as to test the new technology and identify all impacts on the bank’s processes,” says Marek Rehberger, Business Development Convenience Services Manager at CSOB. “Clients are already used to the comfort of payments made using contactless cards. We are confident that payments using mobile phones are a natural next step in making the payment process even easier.”

“T-Mobile continuously strives to improve its services and the planned introduction of NFC is fully in line with this strategy. If the pilot project is successful, we would like to offer this technology in cooperation with banks to all our customers,” adds Milan Hába Vice President Category & Product Management at T-Mobile.

“The results of our MasterIndex survey have confirmed that paying with a mobile phone is attractive for more than 60% of Czechs as it offers them convenience, speed and security. I am glad that in partnership with CSOB we have now started offering payments also using the innovative NFC technology in addition to payments made with the MasterCard Mobile application. Every customer can thus select the option that suits him best at the particular moment,” explains Miroslav Lukeš, General Manager of MasterCard Europe for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Selected participants of the pilot operation will receive a smartphone from T-Mobile supporting NFC technology, into which they will download the MyWallet application from T-Mobile. The bank will then send them the virtual MasterCard payment card “over the air” to their current account (maintained with CSOB or with Era) to accompany the payment application.

After installing the card, pilot-operation participants can make payments by waving their phones in front of contactless terminals. These are the same terminals via which payments can be effected with contactless cards, which currently is every third terminal in the Czech Republic (i.e. approx. 25,000 points of sale throughout the Czech Republic – e.g. at Albert, Billa, Jysk, DM, Neoluxor and Neopalladium stores as well as the points of sale of the Czech Railways and Student Agency). Similarly as with contactless cards, payments in excess of CZK 500 must always be confirmed with a PIN code. Additionally, users can set up a more secure mode where payments can be made only after entering the MyWallet application, which is protected with a password.

More information about the pilot operation and NFC payments can be found on the dedicated portal at www.platbymobilem.cz.

 

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.