Telefónica and RIM Launch Spanish Mobile Wallet Pilot

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is one of the handsets involved in the trialTelefónica Digital and RIM have launched a pilot program of their Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry service in Spain.

Working with local banks and retailers, Telefónica will roll out the service to 350 employees at its headquarters in Distrito Telefónica, Spain. Those taking part in the trial will be able to make payments by simply tapping their NFC-enabled BlackBerry phone against a reader. They will also be able to use their BlackBerry in place of a security card to gain physical access to the Telefónica offices.Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry currently supports the BlackBerry Bold 9900; BlackBerry Curve 9360; and the BlackBerry Curve 9380, all of which run the BlackBerry 7 operating system.

Telefónica COO Julio Linares says: “We have chosen the BlackBerry solution for this pilot because of the security that the platform brings. RIM’s participation has been key for this pilot project, and we are now planning to extend the project to more and more Telefónica employees around the world.”

Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry makes use of SIM-based NFC capabilities. The application replicates a physical wallet, showing the different cards available to the user. Once the user has selected a card, they are offered a range of options, including making transactions, retrieving account balances, and receiving confirmations from the bank. Additional partners taking part in the pilot include banks and financial institutions, retail and food stores, and petrol stations.