Emirates NBD-etisalat pilot programme on payments via cellphone

Dubai: Emirates NBD bank and etisalat will soon start a pilot programme to test a contactless technology to allow payments using a mobile phone.

The companies announced the joint initiative yesterday, saying that etisalat users who are also the customers of NBD will be among the first to be able to use the service.

Abdullah Hashim, etisalat vice-president of enterprise solutions, said the pilot will be launched in the coming weeks and the programme will be commercial by the third quarter of 2009.

Jamal Bin Galaita, Emirates NBD general manager of consumer banking and wealth management, said: "This service will redefine customer convenience and will prove to be a significant milestone for both etisalat and Emirates NBD."

The service will "simplify the consumer payment experience through its ease of use and convenience," said Hashim.

The service is meant for small transactions conducted on a day-to-day basis such as paying at the petrol station, supermarket or the cinema, according to Suvo Sarkar, general manager of retail banking at NBD.

The payment would then be charged to the user's bank card, which could be a debit or a credit card.

The service will only be available for certain handsets which have the capability for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.