Telefónica Germany, Telekom and Vodafone have teamed up to create mobile payments venture, mpass.

The German telecommunications providers say that the company will begin operating next year. It will concentrate on stepping up m-payments distribution and marketing activities in Germany, as well as developing new products. "Payment by mobile phone will increasingly feature in our daily lives," says Michiel van Eldik, managing director of wholesale & partner management at Telefónica Germany. "It has actually been possible for several years. And the first NFC smartphones, with full functionality for all aspects of credit and bonus cards, are already in the stores. I think that even as early as next year, consumers will be leaving their credit cards at home and paying by mobile phone instead."

"Queues at supermarket checkouts will soon be a thing of the past," says Christian Illek, director of marketing at Telekom Deutschland: "mpass will make mobile payment easier, faster and more secure than with conventional payment means. Within the mpass partnership we are not only applying the specific benefits of mobile phones in the payment market, but, more importantly, we are bundling our customer reach with that of our partners."

Dr. Peter Walz, member of the management board and director of wholesale & strategy at Vodafone Deutschland, comments: "For many years now we have offered an interoperable payment product across all networks with payments via the phone bill. This is now being continued in the shared mpass activities. Retailers want standardised solutions and that is what we are giving them with mpass."

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