BankID is a PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) technology that makes it simple and safe to sign on for online transactions, said Grete Sorensen, a project manager for the Financial Services and Savings Bank organizations.

The BankID brand is owned by the banking associations. BankID is a standardized and coordinated electronic identification system used by banks and bank customers in open electronic networks.

"BankID solves the problem of secure identification for online banking and e-commerce transactions," Sorensen said. "It also provides digital signatures in a secure and simple manner in open electronic networks."

Contopronto customers who use BankID can prove their identity in a matter of seconds, Hofstad said.

"This is an important step in providing safe, secure and simple mobile e-money transactions," Hofstad said.

Contopronto was recently awarded the first ever European Union E-money license, allowing for mobile payments and money transfers anywhere within the EU in an amount up to about 1250 Euros.

With Contopronto anyone can use a mobile phone to send and receive money from anybody, or make payments at Pay Points in shops, kiosks, restaurants, service stations, on online stores, net auctions, and much more. Some Contopronto customers also receive their salaries on a mobile phone. Contopronto is in the process of setting up e-money companies in Europe, and issuing licenses for the technology outside of Europe.

Norway was a very early adopter of online banking, and today nearly half of the country's 4.5 million people use Internet banking, Sorensen said.

She said she expects BankID will ultimately allow for a wide variety of secure electronic transactions from mobile phones and computers, including the payments of taxes, mortgages and other advanced banking services.