Hungary launches mobile wallet services

Starting from November 26, 2014, subscribers of Magyar Telekom can access the MobilTárca wallet with NFC-based payment, loyalty and event ticketing services. For payment, customers can use the OTP MasterCard Mobil PayPass debit card issued by OTP Bank at more than 38,000 contactless terminals across the country, which is 42% of the total POS infrastructure.

As for engaging with merchants, SuperShop, a cobranded loyalty scheme provides an NFC loyalty card for point collection/redemption and also virtual coupons for adding value to the shopping experience. The SuperShop NFC loyalty card is accepted in SPAR/INTERSPAR supermarkets, OBI DIY stores, cabs of Budapest Taxi and Dallmayr coffee machines at OMV filling stations. Users also can also use their wallet to store their event tickets provided by InterTicket and validate them with just one tap at different events. InterTicket manages approximately 7 million tickets per year in Hungary and is present in 10 countries.

The MobilTárca application will run by the end of December 2014 on more than 30 NFC capable devices including Samsung, Sony, LG and Alcatel. Users just have to download the wallet from the Google Play Store, set a preferred four digit passcode and then can apply for the mobile bankcard via OTP’s internet banking platform or for the other services directly from the app.

For setting up the platform, Magyar Telekom used the DT Group TSM provided by Gemalto; OTP Bank’s SP TSM is brought commonly by Trevica and the Hungarian provider ANY, also used in the previous pilot phase. As for the loyalty and ticketing features, Cardtek Group is managing the service. SIM cards are supplied by G&D.

The Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association has coordinated the MobilTárca pilot program. Founded in 2011 by Magyar Telekom, Telenor, Vodafone, OTP Bank, MasterCard and SuperShop, The Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association Currently has a total of 23 members. The aim of the Association is to promote NFC technology based mobile payment solutions and to develop the relevant professional guidelines in Hungary.