There was evidence of further momentum behind NFC this week with the news that Samsung and Visa are to partner on a mobile payments scheme for the London 2012 Olympics. The two firms – both sponsors of the games – say they will provide a “contactless enabled Olympics handset to Visa and Samsung sponsored athletes” as well as make the handset available to consumers via “mobile network operators and other distributors.” A Visa-enabled SIM card will be required for use with the device in order to make purchases at contactless retailers. To make payments, customers select the Visa mobile contactless application, select pay and hold the phone in front of a contactless reader at the point of purchase. Visa says it is already working with banks and retailers worldwide to roll-out acceptance for Visa contactless cards, as part of an industry wide initative. It notes that 60,000 merchants in London will be able to accept NFC payments in time for the games. The two firms say their strategic alliance is designed to leave a “lasting legacy” in the market post-2012.

In related news, Bloomberg reports that Amazon is also considering introducing NFC. According to unnamed sources familiar with the project, the online retailer is looking to introduce “NFC-based marketing services” – for example, allowing a consumer shopping for jeans who can’t find the right size in a retail store to tap a handset against the item’s NFC tag to locate the correct item for order through Amazon.com. Amazon is fast becoming a major force in the mobile world, recently launching its own app store based on the Android platform and this week launching a cloud-based music service accessible via mobile phones.