EE unveils 'Cash on Tap' NFC mobile payments service

UK network operator Everything Everywhere has formed a partnership with MasterCard to launch a branded contactless mobile payments service called 'Cash on Tap'.

The Cash on Tap system allows users to make purchases of up to £20 at more than 230,000 UK locations, including Greggs, McDonald's and Boots, that accept NFC payments.

Users download the app from the Google Play store and then pre-load the mobile wallet through a UK debit or credit card. EE is promising to give customers £5 credit when they activate the app and another £5 when they add money for the first time.

The password-protected SIM-based service will initially be available on three Android handsets; the Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia SP and the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, with more to follow.

EE has also hinted that a ticketing service and loyalty-card system based around contactless technology will be added in the future.

Last February, Vodafone and Visa unveiled plans for a similar service involving NFC-enabled phones that utilise Visa payWave technology.

Related Companies

Mastercard

Channels

Retail banking Payments

Keywords

Cards Mobile & online banking

Comments: (4)

Raymond Lee - PHOS - London 05 July, 2013, 15:21

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So.. this is really QuickTap 2.0 but without Barclaycard.. no real innovation here then. Shame as there was an opportunity to do something really exciting.

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A Finextra member 05 July, 2013, 16:27

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It's a pre-paid card on a stick!

Another chunk of jingle-jangle that showcases bits of mobile payment technology that we already know works. If this is mobile payments then it really only serves to confirm further the ever growing belief that NFC isn't about payments.

Now if that pre-paid card was my debit card (or indeed my credit card), and I could download it to the phone myself, I think I would be a bit impressed.

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A Finextra member 08 July, 2013, 10:31

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I dont think Pre-Paid is a problem here. Actually pre-paid will become less of a problem as we find more locations in which we can pay for our goods and services using our mobile phones. It's not an issue for Starbucks that's for sure...

The big issue is the secure sim and only addressing payments.NFC and just payments bring nothing of value to a business / merchant, and with the slow up-take, it just proves that mobile is an area that needs to evolve beyond just payments.