The parties say they want payment services providers and mobile network operators to cooperate on a system to enable over 500 million Europeans to make Sepa payments using their handsets.

They are asking market participants to contribute to a newly published paper: 'TSM Service Management Requirements and Specifications', which covers the different roles and processes involved in the provision and lifecycle management of banks' mobile contactless payment applications integrated into phones.

Dag-Inge Flatraaker, chair m-channel group, EPC, says: "The requirements developed by EPC and GSMA will have a major impact enabling the mobile as a channel for payments in Sepa. This initiative paves the way for more efficient commercial launches of mobile contactless payments and contributes to interoperability and freedom of choice for the different stakeholders."

Alex Sinclair, CTO, GSMA, adds: "This is a significant move as it is the first time that mobile operators and banks have worked together at the international level on a common vision for contactless payments."

The EPC and GSMA first joined forces in June 2008 in a bid to tap the existing Sepa and mobile network operator infrastructures.

The partners envisage that new services will be managed by a so-called 'trusted service manager' (TSM), an entity that would provide a single point of contact for mobile service providers and which would also manage the distribution, configuration and activation of mobile services on NFC-enabled handsets.

Read the consultation paper here:» Download the document now 3.7 mb (PDF File)