PingPing, a brand by Belgacom for mobile and micro payments, and touchatag, an Alcatel-Lucent venture, have teamed to define a business model that combines PingPing’s payment system for mobile phones and touchatag’s contactless services, such as interactive advertising, loyalty programs and coupon services.
By this fall of this year, Belgian consumers will be able to use one contactless card or sticker to initiate a variety of applications, as opposed to numerous cards currently required. Both parties will also support near field communication phones.
PingPing and touchatag will work together to create an accreditation program that will enable other technology suppliers, operators and application developers to develop new programs and uses for the technology.
With a single contactless card or sticker, a consumer will be able to access new services, add loyalty services, pay for services and receive information. For example, someone walking past a movie poster can use his phone to learn more about the movie, see recent reviews, check on movie times and seating availability and even buy a ticket for a particular showing, simply by holding his cell phone near the poster and clicking a few buttons. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/nfcnews-4.gif)
