Motorola turns mobile phone into wallet

Motorola is to conduct a trial of mobile phones incorporating MasterCard's PayPass, a contactless payment technology.

The handsets will allow customers to make payments by holding the device next to a reader equipped with Near Field Communications technology.

In the future, applications may include contactless ticketing for travel or events, the company said.

The phone can also function as a contactless reader, which Motorola said could pave the way for a variety of marketing and promotional applications.

The company added that the handsets will incorporate a number of security features to protect financial data and provide secure financial transactions.

Applications can be loaded into the secure area of the phone "over the air", offering potential operational savings to banks that issue cards, as well as revenue opportunities to wireless network operators, the company said.

Ron Hamma, vice president and director of enterprise business development at Motorola, said in a statement: "In essence your phone will become your wallet, key chain and ID.

"Fully integrating MasterCard PayPass technology in our phones is a natural fit and a major benefit to the consumer."

Art Kranzley, executive vice president and chief e-business officer at MasterCard International, added: "Combining MasterCard PayPass payment functionality with Motorola mobile phones offers consumers a unique way to pay using something they carry wherever they go: their mobile phone.

"Recent MasterCard consumer research showed that consumers who found contactless payments to be extremely appealing, selected mobile phones based on convenience and uniqueness as a form factor of choice to be enhanced with PayPass."

The Motorola handsets enabled with MasterCard PayPass technology are expected to be trialled by the end of this year in the US.