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United States-based Citibank and mobile operator Vodafone appear likely to go ahead with plans for a large Near Field Communication trial in Bangalore, India next month, enabling as many as 10,000 or 15,000 users to tap their phones to make retail purchases and possibly pay transit fares, CardLine Global sister publication Cards&Payments has learned. A source says the phones would carry a PayPass credit application from MasterCard Worldwide, although MasterCard declined to confirm the trial. Cards&Payments first reported in September that Citibank planned a large trial in Bangalore, mainly for bus transit fares. The ensuring global financial crisis, which has hit Citi hard, apparently has not soured the bank on the massive trial. Last fall, Dion Lisle, senior vice president for growth ventures and innovation in Citi's global consumer group, told a conference in London that NFC was "absolutely part of our future." At the time he told Cards&Payments that an NFC trial has "got to scale; it's got to build confidence." But he refused to comment on any plans for a trial in Bangalore when contacted by Cards&Payments Monday. It is unclear how many retail terminals would be available in Bangalore to accept the PayPass application. Users also might be able to use the phones to pay fares on Bangalore's bus system with a proprietary payment application. The project would involve Vodafone Essar, part of United Kingdom-based Vodafone Group. And it would likely use Nokia NFC phones, probably the 6212 model released by the handset maker late last year.
