Three Dutch banks and three mobile network operators have signed a letter of intent to jointly introduce NFC-based payments in the Netherlands.

Under the terms of the deal T-Mobile, Vodafone, KPN, Rabobank, ABN Amro and ING will set up a joint venture company which will be responsible for introducing and managing the new service. They expect commercial services to begin in 2012.

The deal marks the first time major banks and mobile operators in a European country have joined forces to introduce near field communication technology.

“Many different parties are involved in providing this type of mobile payment service,” say the partners. “In terms of ease of use as well as safety it is essential to create a single uniform system for mobile transactions in the Netherlands, based on international standards.”

“By affiliating themselves to the system, all banks, mobile providers and other service providers will ultimately be able to provide their services by telephone,” they add. As well as payments, other applications such as admission tickets, coupons and customer loyalty and membership cards will also be introduced.

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