More than 750 merchant locations across Singapore are participating in the three-month pilot, which was launched in May 2009. Up to 300 selected Citi M1 Visa Platinum card members have been invited to join. They are able to purchase items at Visa payWave merchants simply by waving their NFC-enabled phones in front of a contactless reader at the point of sale.

Gemalto is entrusted with the management and preparation of sensitive user information from Citibank and to perform secure Visa personalization services on the phones enabling subscribers to gain access to the Visa payWave service on Singapore M1's mobile network.

The service is performed at Gemalto's certified personalization facility in Singapore as part of the Gemalto's global Trusted Services Management (TSM) service offer.

"Mobile payment technology, when paired with a credit card account, has the great potential to change the future of consumer behavior in how we make payments and transact daily. This pilot is testimony to our continuous endeavor to acquire new technologies that can provide enhanced convenience, accessibility and mobility for our customers. Gemalto's experience in NFC projects around the world facilitates secure data exchanges between the parties involved in this pilot," commented John Denhof, Business Director of Credit Payment Products, Citibank Singapore Ltd.

Ms. Meranda Chan, Visa's Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei added, "With this pilot, we aim to gain greater insight into what drives consumer usage of Visa payWave on mobile devices. But a project like this can only succeed if the necessary expertise is applied in operational and technical areas. For that, we are pleased to have Gemalto as a partner, given the depth of their experience in smart card management for both the telecommunications and payment sectors."

"Mobile NFC will not only change the way consumers use their mobile phones but impact their lifestyles and buying behavioiour as well. By working with Gemalto and Citibank, our long time partners, on this pilot project, we hope to better understand consumer behaviour in the use of this technology. This will help us develop a compelling mobile payment service for both our consumers and business partners," said Mr P Subramaniam, Chief Marketing Officer, M1.

Mr Tan Teck Lee, President Gemalto Asia remarked, "Having participated in major NFC pilot programs around the world, we have accumulated a unique expertise in operating services with multiple stakeholders and different industries, particularly when dealing with how to handle sensitive information. Gemalto is unique in that we gained all this experience across all of the key industries, for example in the telecom, financial services and transportation sectors".