BNZ launches swipe phone wallet trial

Bank of New Zealand has launched a trial of a phone with an embedded chip that is able to make payments by swiping the phone against a card reader. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Bank of New Zealand has launched a trial of a phone with an embedded chip that is able to make payments by swiping the phone against a card reader.

The three month trial is being done by 44 BNZ and Vodafone staff using a Samsung Galaxy S2 phone with a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip, similar to one used by Google in its Google Wallet trial in America.

The trial is using a system set up in conjunction with Visa and Paymark, BNZ said.

The payment card's data is stored on a secure chip embedded into the SIM card inside an NFC enabled phone, which means triallists can replace their regular plastic payment card with their phone.

"What we're testing here is the viability of a true, mobile wallet that will eventually allow people to replace multiple pieces of plastic with functionality embedded inside their phone. It's going to make smartphones even smarter," said Paul Tait, BNZ's Head of Channels Innovation.

There are other contactless payment systems around that are on credit or debit cards, but this is different because the NFC chip is in the phone, rather than on the case of the phone, on a credit card, or on a sticker outside the phone.

"Think of what you carry around in your wallet today - credit and debit cards, loyalty cards, building access cards - and imagine most of that functionality on your smartphone."

"This just the beginning of what we can bring to Vodafone customers," said Zac Summers, Vodafone's Chief Strategy Officer.

Triallists can use an app on their smartphone to view their transactions, which are updated in real time.

- INTEREST.CO.NZ