Ericsson has launched a new peer-to-peer mobile money transfer service across seven European countries.
Mobile phone users in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden are being invited to sign up online to create a mobile wallet which can be used for sending and receiving money across handsets.
The wireless technology outfit has created a Money Services division to roll out the service, which will be gradually extended across Europe. Transfers will be effected over the Ericsson Money Interconnect network, which the company says enables different mobile wallet services to work together, cross-system, cross-currency, and across borders.
Semir Mahjoub, Ericsson VP and president of Ericsson Money Services, says: "Simply having a friend's phone number, irrespective of where he or she is in the world, will open up access to financial services and mobile money in a new way. Individuals around the world can benefit from globally connected money services in their everyday lives by making money transfer more like mobile communication."
The plans for the new division were first flagged in February, when Ericsson signalled that it intended to "take a driving role" in mobile P2P payments. The Money Services division was formally established following a two year proof-of-concept programme, says Mahjoub, in which the company worked with wireless operators and financial services customers to build an operational model capable of meeting all necessary regulatory, legal and security requirements.