The march of m-payments has taken another giant leap forward with the announcement that Coca-Cola vending machines in Belgium and Luxembourg are to be equipped with contactless payment technology.
To purchase one of these fizzy beverages, mobile phone users (regardless of operator) will simply hold their NFC tag (a sticker on their mobile phone) or PingPing card in front of the reader fitted to the Coca-Cola vending machine.
In the very near future, the NFC technology used by PingPing will be directly integrated into mobile phones via the SIM card.
The implementation, which will start at the end of 2010, will make Belgium the first European country to be equipped with a contactless payment solution. Article