The project will initially involve Blackberry handsets, but will expand over time to include an array of devices from manufacturers including HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia and Motorola, according to Visa.

Mary Carol Harris, head of Visa Europe’s mobile division, comments, “One of the key challenges to the success of mobile payments is the supply and availability of NFC handsets. Until a majority of mobile handsets offered in the market are supplied with integrated NFC, Visa is proactively working with innovators like DeviceFidelity and pioneers such as Akbank to harness the potential of new technologies.”

Meanwhile, Visa’s main rival MasterCard is working on a similar project with another Turkish bank, Garanti, and vendor Gemalto to deliver contactless payment to customers via NFC-enabled SIM cards.