By Duncan Mackay

Samsung_phone_making_contactless_paymentMay 17 - Lloyds TSB is to join fellow Olympic sponsors Samsung and Visa to help make it easier for customers to make contactless payments using their mobile telephones at London 2012, it has been announced.


The bank, a Tier One London 2012 partner, has jonied the two Olympic worldwide sponsors in helping pioneer Near Field Communications (NFC).

The technology means that customers will be able to make payments by simply selecting the Visa mobile contactless application, choosing pay and holding the phone in front of a contactless reader at the point of purchase.

As issuance partner, the Olympic handsets will be linked to Lloyds TSB accounts.

Participants in the programme using the Samsung phone will have the ability to view their balance both before and after a transaction.

The announcement signals the start of Lloyds TSB's broader mobile contactless payments programme for consumers.

Mike Regnier, director of personal current accounts at Lloyds TSB, said: "We are delighted to be working with Visa at such an exciting time.

"The launch of mobile contactless payments will revolutionise the way people pay in the run up to, during, and beyond the Games."

The partners believe showcasing the technology throughout London during the Games, as the eyes of the world focus on it next summer, will provide a huge boost for the technology.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games offers an unrivalled opportunity to demonstrate the power of mobile payments to a worldwide audience and further the technology's development," said Sandra Alzetta, a senior vice-president at Visa Europe. 

The partners have already said there are already more than 60,000 locations where contactless payments are accepted, and contactless and electronic card payments will be available in the run-up to and during the Games.

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March 2011: Samsung and Visa join forces to introduce contactless payments at London 2012