A range of services
Accessed from the phone’s main menu, the O2 Wallet shows all the NFC services available on the handset in addition to information about each service and customer support.

All 500 trialists will have Oyster on their phone enabling them to use their handset to pay for travel on the Tube, buses and trams across the Capital. They will also be able to top up their Oyster by touching their handset on Oyster ticket machines in tube stations or at Oyster ticket stops. If a trialist’s phone rings, they can still answer the call and continue to make a transaction. A call or text message will not interfere with the NFC service.

Trialists will also be able to touch the NFC-enabled handset on selected smart posters at the launch and at other locations over the course of the trial. The smart posters contain embedded tags which serve as shortcuts for services enabled through the handset. Once the user taps the poster with the handset, they will automatically dial a number, send a text message or be sent a shortcut to a mobile internet site with more information about the subject on the poster e.g. an event taking place or downloading content.

Mobile payments
The trial will also examine mobile payments using the Barclaycard payment application in the O2 Wallet. A subset of trialists will be able to use the growing number of ‘contactless’ payment readers at retailers in and around London to purchase goods for GBP 10 or under. They will simply need to tap their phones on the secure reader and transactions will be completed in a matter of seconds.

In the initial phase of the trial, Barclaycard will credit each phone with GBP 200 worth of non-reloadable funds which trialists can use and spend as they see fit at any participating retailer. As well as making payments, they will also be able to use the phones to check available funds and to locate retailers close to them that accept ‘contactless’ payments, including Books Etc, Chop’d, Coffee Republic, EAT, Krispy Kreme, Threshers and YO! Sushi.