Swisscom is using secure NFC-based SIM cards supplied by Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) for its Tapit mobile payments service, which launched at the start of July.

The German firm said its SIM enables the secure storage of sensitive user information such as digital payment card details or employee ID (in addition to point-of-sale payments, the Swisscom service can also be used by companies for building access).

But the main focus is retail, with more than 50,000 outlets supporting the service, including supermarkets Coop and Migros.

In the future, it is anticipated users will be able to manage their loyalty cards on the SIMs too.

Tapit currently supports Visa payment cards issued by Cornercard, a unit of the Swiss Corner Bank. Further card issuers are set to follow, for example Aduno Group/Viseca, a provider of MasterCard cards.

The Tapit platform is also used by the country’s smaller operators, as well as Swisscom.