SIA and ČSOB launch “first” NFC mobile wallet in Czech Republic
Petr Hutla, ČSOB
Czech bank ČSOB and Italian payments firm SIA have launched the first mobile wallet for NFC payments in the Czech Republic.
The new app, NaNákupy (literally “go shopping”), supports both MasterCard and Visa, and enables ČSOB’s customers to make contactless payments by smartphone.
Petr Hutla, member of the ČSOB board of directors in charge of retail, says NaNákupy will be the first in the country to offer its users mobile telephone payments to retailers “regardless of whether they hold a MasterCard or Visa”.
Nicola Cordone, senior vice-president at SIA, adds that the Czech Republic has the “highest proportion of retail NFC transactions in Europe”.
NaNákupy will use SIA’s infrastructure. SIA says debit and credit cards can be virtualised in the mobile wallet through Host Card Emulation (HCE) technology that stores data in “total security”, regardless of the mobile operator and without the need to apply for a new card or a special SIM card.
SIA adds that by the end of 2016, new features will be added to the mobile wallet. One of them includes notifications on goods warranty or insurance expiration dates.
Czech mates
ČSOB (full name: Československá obchodní banka) is one of the largest commercial banks in the Czech Republic and part of the Belgian KBC Group. In a separate and recent deal, ING and KBC joined forces to launch a new, integrated mobile payments and loyalty platform in Belgium.
SIA has also been busy as it invested in a 3.17% stake in technical university Politecnico di Milano (MIP). SIA is the third new partner to join in 2016 after Microsoft and Whirlpool, and says it has already been collaborating with MIP for several years on international innovation and development projects.
