Hungary’s three mobile operators are to launch a NFC-based mobile payment system from the start of next year.

T-Mobile, Telenor and Vodafone Hungary are working together with the country’s largest bank OTP Nyrt, as well as MasterCard and local loyalty card provider SuperShop, on developing the service, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The plan is to run a trial for the next six months, ahead of an early 2014 commercial launch. The trial will involve 2,000 participants and selected retailers.

The operators acknowledge the importance of making NFC-enabled handsets as widely available as possible. By the end of 2014, 80 per cent of new smartphones sold will have NFC said Gyorgy Beck, Vodafone Hungary’s president.