Telco Telefónica is set to pilot an app and card reader-based mobile point-of-sale system that supports NFC payments in the Czech Republic.
Slated to launch in September, the mPOS2 trial will see small merchants use a reader from Ingenico and an iOS, Android or Windows app developed by local outfit Monet+.
Retailers enter the amount to be paid in the app and the customer either swipes a Visa or MasterCard mag-strip card, inserts an EMV chip card and enters their PIN or - for low value transactions - taps a contactless card or NFC-enabled mobile phone. Merchants will pay a 2.79% transaction fee during the pilot and local bank CSOB will clear payments.
Telefónica's Josef Puczok told NFC Times that the project means that the telco is the main player, more than just a "value added reseller" playing second fiddle to partners such as banks.
A full roll out of the technology could come early next year and move beyond the Czech Republic to Germany and Slovakia.