Mobile-network operators NTT Docomo Inc. of Japan and KT Corp. of South Korea have inked a deal to support Near Field Communication payments for smartphones in the two countries that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
The two companies, which expect the cross-border NFC service to begin by the end of 2012, are developing common specifications to enable networks, billing platforms and devices to offer seamlessly connected NFC services.
The common specifications will benefit businessmen using specific NFC chip-embedded Android phones travelling regularly between Japan and South Korea. “This way, our customers will be able to use the same phone overseas,” a Tokyo-based spokesperson with Docomo tells PaymentsSource.
Docomo and KT are planning to submit an outline of the common specifications to global industry associations and standardization bodies, including the GSM Association. The program also involves Visa Inc., NFC chip manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and security technology vendor Gemalto N.V.
To prepare for the new service, Docomo and KT plan to enhance their existing infrastructures, including Osaifu-Keitai, the NFC-based mobile-wallet service Docomo launched in Japan in 2004.
“Consumers in Japan will still be able to use Osaifu-Ketai to access the new service,” says the spokesperson, adding KT also will upgrade its NFC service in South Korea.
Various specific details, such as the role card issuers will play and how charges will be applied, are still in discussion.
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