The National Bank of Kuwait has launched a contactless mobile-payments test in Kuwait that relies on Near Field Communication technology.
The test also involves Visa Inc., Kuwait-based mobile-network operator Zain and United States-based contactless-technology vendor Vivotech Inc., which is providing the electronic wallets for the NFC-enabled phones and over-the-air provisioning software.
The test, scheduled to run until April, involves no fewer than 500 of the bank's credit cardholders and relies on Nokia 6212 handsets. Trial participants download Visa credit card-account details to their mobile phones. Participants can use their phones to make contactless purchases at some 100 merchants located at The Avenues mall.
