Telenor, DNB Continue Move Toward Valyou Mobile Wallet

To facilitate the launch of a mobile wallet unveiled in February at the Mobile World Congress 2013 event, a major bank and a telecommunications company in Norway have formed a joint venture.

Mobile network operator Telenor and DNB, a bank with the largest financial holdings in Norway, last week announced the formation of TSM Nordic to develop the Near Field Communication-based Valyou mobile wallet.

Consumers with the Valyou application on their phone will be able to make payments of up to 25 euros ($33 U.S.) when holding the smartphone handset close to a contactless payment reader. For transactions totaling more than 25 euros, the user will also have to enter a PIN.

The Valyou website currently does not provide details about the product, but forecasts a 2013 launch. 

Telenor and DNB also partnered for an NFC mobile wallet initiative in Oslo, Norway in 2011, at a time when some of the first NFC mobile payment initiatives were taking place around the globe.

When revealing Valyou this year, Telenor executives said they wanted to first concentrate on the payments capabilities with NFC and add other features later.

It is not clear what the full-featured Valyou will offer to customers, though technology bloggers suggest the mobile wallet will face some hurdles in that it requires users subscribe to Telenor and to own an NFC-enabled phone and a Visa card from DNB.