Denmark's four network operators have joined forces to launch a company to develop a common platform for mobile payments. The venture comes just two weeks after leading UK operators formally named their mobile payments company, 'Weve.'
The Danish company formed by Telia, TDC, Telenor and 3 Denmark marks the first concrete move since the operators outlined their joint venture plan last year. Although the company does not yet have a name, Peter Bredgaard from mobile specialist Unwire has been appointed CEO starting Jan. 1, 2013.
According to a report by Finextra, Bredgaard will oversee a three-stage project to bring mobile payments to Denmark. A timeline has yet to be confirmed, although contactless payment services based on Near Field Communications will not be included in the initial phases and it is not clear when NFC services will be available.
The operators said NFC would be part of the service offering "eventually," noting that this requires cooperation on the development of NFC infrastructure.
The new company will initially offer the ability to make payments via an SMS or app-based service followed by online purchases from a mobile handset.
A statement from Telia Denmark noted that the joint venture is a separate company with its own board. The four companies each have a representative on the board, while Flemming L. Jensen, CEO of Atos, will be the independent chairman.
Telia also cited a study by YouGov on behalf of the Danish telecoms operators that said within the past six months, 19 per cent of all Danes initiated their first mobile payment. .
For more:
- see this Finextra article
- see this Mobile Business Briefing article
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