Lloyds TSB has joined Visa as an issuance partner for Samsung’s NFC-enabled Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile handset.
The Olympic handsets will be linked to Lloyds TSB accounts, enabling customers to make contactless mobile purchases at thousands of locations in London during the 2012 Games. To make payments, customers simply select the Visa mobile contactless application, select pay and hold the phone in front of a contactless reader at the point of purchase. Users will also be able to view their balance before and after each transaction.
The Samsung Olympic Mobile Phone will be given to Visa-sponsored athletes before becoming available to the general public through an as-of-yet unnamed mobile operator.
Lloyds TSB’s wider UK mobile payments plan will be rolled out in a phased approach, according to the company. The program starts with a large scale internal pilot using prepaid accounts this month, followed by a commercial launch linked to prepaid accounts by the end of 2011. The strategy culminates with the 2012 Olympics scheme. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/nfcnews-4.gif)
