Telefonica has selected Giesecke & Devrient as a key supplier as it gears up to roll out NFC-based mobile money services in Europe “over the next few months”. G&D will supply the Trusted Service Manager (TSM) technology needed for the proposed m-payment system. The TSM technology includes over-the-air transfer and personalisation of NFC applications.  G&D will also deliver the lifecycle management for the mobile operator’s NFC application platform and be one of a number of vendors supplying NFC-enabled SIM cards to Telefonica.

The Spanish operator will launch a NFC-based service first in Europe over the next few months, it says. It will offer the service to users in the form of a digital wallet. Its new management platform will be available to third-party service providers such as financial institutions, public transport operators and loyalty card operators. Telefonica has been trialling NFC technology, most recently at its own headquarters in Madrid.