PosteMobile, the Italian MVNO backed by the country’s Post Office, has launched an NFC-enabled SIM, which can be used for touch-and-pay transactions in locations such as shops and cafes.

The new Super SIM NFC, which is available from all the country’s post offices, enables users to make payments using a digital version of their existing Postamat and Postepay cards.

A range of additional services is planned for the SIM card, including transport, access control, loyalty and couponing.

The MVNO, which previously launched an NFC SIM card in 2012, is talking up the current move as a logical progression of its strategy, which has been about marrying traditional mobile services with its background in banking and finance.

Of the MVNO’s three million users, about one third access its service for financial services such as paying bills, transferring cash abroad and refilling their Postepay accounts.

PosteMobile’s financial services are offered via an app that is available to subscribers of all the country’s operators and MVNOs, making it an ‘over-the-top’ player in this context, it said.