The two companies, both official London 2012 sponsors, first outlined plans for a special Games NFC payments handset last March and have since brought Lloyds TSB on board.

With the Olympics opening ceremony now just five months away, the pair will show off the technology at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.

The app, based on Visa's payWave technology, enables users to make payments of up to £15 by holding their phone in front of a contactless reader at the point of purchase. Customers can also check their transaction history and view their up to date account balance.



Sandra Alzetta, head, innovation, Visa Europe, says: "London 2012 is a unique opportunity to show the future of payments coming to life and leave a lasting legacy post-2012. The new mobile payment application is central to this showcase. We are also working with a number of partners to put live mobile payment technology into consumer hands."

There has been unconfirmed speculation that Google will also use the Olympics as a springboard to launch its contactless mobile payments system in the UK.