China Mobile to Start Wireless Payment Services

    China Mobile Research Institute will launch a type of SIM card with near field communications (NFC) and data downloading functions. The SIM cards will facilitate China Mobile customers paying for products and services using their mobile phones when they are near suitable card readers.

    In the future, the NFC SIM cards will be linked to mobile phone users’ bankcards. Once all the money on the SIM card has been spent, customers can send a short message for a cash transfer. At the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, telephones with these SIM cards can be used as entrance tickets.

    China Mobile will not gain dividends from the payments, but bear the card reader costs of about RMB 3,000 per set and the expenses involved in promotion of the SIM cards, whose cost is RMB 50 to 100 apiece.