Telcos frustrated as EU delays mobile wallet
A FUTURE where you will swipe your phone instead of your credit card looks set to be placed on hold a little while longer, with the European Commission expected to delay its decision on a UK “mobile wallet” scheme.
The commission will reveal its decision later today on a joint venture proposal between Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and O2 to create a standard mobile payments platform.
However, it is understood the Commission will not reject the proposal outright.
Sources say the decision was not influenced by the UK’s other operator, 3, which has spoken out against the plans.
The operators had initially planned to showcase the scheme at the Olympics this summer but were forced to abandon the deadline after facing a series of hurdles.
It is understood the European Commission wants extra time to consider the next move from Google, which has already launched Google Wallet in the US.
Apple is also thought to be near to including contactless payment technology in its iPhone.