In line with the mobile NFC Value Added Services proposal for point of sale (POS) terminals from the GSMA, this collaboration between both companies will enable retailers to securely dematerialize coupons and loyalty on an NFC Secure Element and provide end-users with a smooth experience: no more loyalty plastic cards and paper coupons. Coupons are key in the retail value proposition: In 2011, 3.5 billion coupons have been redeemed is the US only.

At the core of the collaboration, different products and solutions of OT enable this solution: the dragonFly NFC SIM card which is fast, secure and convenient, an application on the SIM card where the coupons and the loyalty card are stored and a mobile application for the end-user to see what coupons are available and manage them. Thanks to these, subscribers will be able to leverage on Ingenico's large installed base of NFC embedded terminals across all geographies, managing loyalty triggering and coupons recognition.

In addition, OT's Wallet Manager solution will enable merchants to ensure the promotion and marketing of the coupons and loyalty programs.

The benefits of such a service are various: mobile operators can offer a new added value service on the SIM cards that will be widely accepted by merchants. It opens a world of opportunities for services providers in terms of dematerialization and marketing campaigns; for end-users, the coupons are stored on mobile phones so no more problem of losing or forgetting coupons at home. They also can download the coupons on the go. It has been highlighted that mobile coupons were 10 times more likely to be redeemed than traditional coupons1

"OT is delighted to add yet another application to its flagship dragonFly NFC SIM card. This couponing service, in line with the GSMA proposal, comes on top of numerous payment, transport, physical and logical access control, digital security and biometrics applications." said Cédric Collomb, Managing Director of the Telecom Business Unit. "Offering such a service is in concordance with the positioning of the company: Mobility. Thanks to this service, end-users have all their coupons and loyalty cards stored on their mobile phones; they can use them where and when they want".

"Ingenico is pleased to leverage on its strong NFC based acceptance network to support the deployment of innovative digital solutions such as loyalty and couponing, bringing more value for the merchants. We continue to make it easy and simple for them to improve interactions with their customers while complying to open standards" said Michel Léger, Ingenico executive vice president, marketing.