Poland

Nine Polish banks are to commercially launch mobile payments based on Visa’s Host Card Emulation (HCE) solution early in 2015, the credit card giant said.

Poland’s Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) said six firms have submitted preliminary bids for 4G spectrum — the country’s four biggest operators, plus two newcomers. The bidders are competing over 19 blocks of radio frequencies in the 800MHz and 2.

The Polish unit of Orange and local player mBank, which is part of Germany’s Commerzbank, will launch mobile financial services in the second half of 2014 via a new joint venture.

Polish regulator, the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), cancelled a spectrum auction due to the potential for legal uncertainty.

Six of Poland’s leading banks have teamed up to build their own mobile payment system.

The GSM vs CDMA war is long gone, but niche markets are providing an opportunity for the CDMA450 sector.

Orange is set to launch a commercial NFC service in Poland in partnership with local mBank as well as MasterCard. The service, which is called Orange Cash, will be available from November 1.