DBS has joined forces with several companies to develop the NFC Mobile Payment Solution service; they include EZ-Link, a subsidiary of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore, Dutch digital security company Gemalto, as well as MasterCard and StarHub.
The program has developed N-Flex a solution which turns ordinary handsets into NFC-enabled mobile phones without making any changes to the handset device.
The N-Flex service is set to function on SIM cards across several mobile handsets. In addition, the service is Single Wire Protocol (SWP)-conformed, as endorsed by the GSM Association (GSMA).
As a result, the NFC trial users are expected to be able to carry out payments via their mobile handsets at all merchant outlets that accept the MasterCard PayPass or the ez-link card, as well as on public transportation, such as buses and trains.
The trial participants will receive an e-mail from either StarHub or DBS Bank with associated instructions. After visiting the StarHub Customer Service Centre, trial users need to insert and map the Upteq N-Flex device onto the SIM cards of their mobile handsets before they can start carrying out mobile payments.
The trial program is expected to start in December 2010 and will last for eight months. The service is currently scheduled to be launched in 2011.
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