Telefonica Digital has selected Sybase 365 as the global supplier for its mobile wallet service. The vendor will help develop Telefonica’s m-wallet service which will be a gateway for subscribers to a range of mobile financial services. The operator expects to launch its first commercial wallet services in Latin America and Europe during the first half of 2012. Telefonica’s virtual wallet will provide a range of services from a stored value account through to payments and P2P transactions. The wallet will hold prepaid, debit, credit and loyalty cards and will support payments via NFC. The operators says as NFC becomes “more widespread it will be possible to make payments directly from the wallet via compatible handsets and point of sale terminals”.

According to Joaquín Mata, Telefonica Digital’s head of financial services, the mobile wallet is “at the heart” of the operator’s financial services strategy. He said it was crucial that Telefonica delivered a “strong, simple and secure user experience”. The operator has been gearing up for its commercial launch with the appointment of key vendors. Giesecke & Devrient was appointed as Telefonica’s trusted service manager for its forthcoming NFC services at the end of last year.