14 DAY TRIAL // Several companies, including JCB, CCV Holland B.V., Gemalto, KPN, Nokia, NXP Semiconductors (formerly Philips Semiconductors), PaySquare, and ViVOtech announced that they have successfully launched Mobile J/Speedy, the Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payment pilot project in Amsterdam. Following initial trials in September, the pilot service is now being rolled out to a broader group of JCB's customers.
JCB cardholders are provided with a Nokia mobile phone, equipped with an NFC chip, developed by NXP and loaded with the JCB payment application specified by JCB and developed by Gemalto. At selected PaySquare merchants, cardholders can securely purchase items by just holding their mobile phone close to ViVOtech's contactless NFC reader/writer, which is attached to the payment terminal of CCV. KPN is taking the role of installing the application and personalizing the mobile phones, and CCV is processing the transactions.
The first transaction of the pilot was conducted at Sushi Time, a Japanese restaurant in the World Trade Center in Amsterdam. The manager of Sushi Time told JCB that customers who pay by Mobile J/Speedy are pleased with the speed and ease of this payment solution.
"Feedback from the first users of Mobile J/Speedy has been very encouraging and we are pleased to now be able to involve a wider group of customers", said Hajime Matsuura, branch manager of JCB International's Amsterdam branch, who is taking a leading role in the pilot project. "Customers mentioned how quick and easy it was to pay for a cup of coffee on a busy day. Since there is a lot of business offices located in and around the World Trade Center, Mobile J/Speedy is being especially well-received by busy business people. They do not need to fumble in their pocket or purse to find small change. And merchants benefit from the fact that lines proceed faster at the cashier."