Handset delays hamper etisalat’s NFC deployment
11 October, 2010
category: NFC
Dubai’s etisalat is postponing its plans to commercially deploy NFC-enabled mobile payment technology due to delays by handset manufacturers, reports gulfnews.com.
According to GN, the delay could take over a year. In the meantime, etisalat says it will launch a second pilot using Samsung’s new NFC-enabled touchscreen smart phone.
Etisalat has been partnering with Emirates NBD bank to roll out the technology, which allows customers to use NFC-enabled SIM cards that link-up with a credit card to make Visa paywave contactless payments.
According to Rashid Al Abbar, director of m-commerce at etisalat, there are more than 1,000 outlets across the UAE equipped with the necessary reader technology to complete NFC transactions, but the main issue remains getting the right handsets.
“We are distributing these phones to close user groups of etisalat and the bank,” Al Abbar told GN. “Right now we are testing the smart phone with the bank.”
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