RBS, Natwest NFC Trial Shows Promise

In the same day that RBS, Natwest announced that they would be getting rid of monthly paper statements, they have announced the launch of their NFC mobile payment solution. The solution was initially trialled with 1,000 customers but will be available shortly to all customers who own an iPhone 4. TouchPay is being supported by Giesecke & Devrient providing Trusted Service Manager (TSM) service, data generation for payment applications and fulfillment of iCarte devices.

A staggering 9,000 RBS customers have registered to participate in the trial over a period of three days. Ben Green, Head of Mobile at RBS, stated: “TouchPay has proven incredibly popular and shows that our customers want more flexible and convenient ways to pay. The TouchPay service means that our customers need only to carry their smartphone with them to make payments and manage their finances wherever they are. Giesecke & Devrient is a strategic partner of RBS and their knowledge and experience in delivering secure NFC services has been invaluable to ensuring the success of Touchpay.”

The UK remains one of the largest markets for NFC in Europe, with the London Olympic Games providing an incentive for many retailers to adopt contactless payments. Currently, the Post Office is the retailer with the greatest number of contactless payment points in the country, counting 11,500 branches.

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