Mobile Payment System for London Commuters

UK mobile phone operator O2 and Transport for London have announced a "groundbreaking" method of paying for journeys using mobile phones. The two companies are working with Nokia to trial a new system for using mobile handsets as Oyster-style swipe cards. It is expected that other mobile companies and financial backers will join the trial. 

While little detail of the project was forthcoming, it will involve O2 customers being given the opportunity to imbed an Oyster electronic payment card into their mobile handsets and simply swipe these at special readers as they enter and leave underground stations or buses.

The move follows similar trials and service launches in Japan and Korea. In February 2005, East Japan Railway Co announced that it would work with mobile company DoCoMo and Sony Crop to launch a new mobile proximity payment service in Japan. The trio have been working together to enable Japanese commuters to use their mobile phones to pay for tickets on the hugely popular commuter services offered by the rail company.

The DoCoMo service launched with a customer base of ten million commuters who regularly used the Suica contactless payment cards which East Japan Railways introduced in 2002. Suica uses Sony's Felica integrated chips. The Suica system also allows users to pay for goods and newspapers at many stores.