Visa to launch NFC payments in the UK this year

Visa Europe is to launch an NFC mobile payments service in the UK by the end of 2013, the payments network has confirmed to NFC World — although the exact launch date and full details on how the service will work are yet to be revealed.

A new video ad shows off the mobile contactless service and says that it will be launched by December 2013:

In February Visa and Samsung announced a plan to pre-load the payments network’s payWave applet on embedded secure elements in “selected” next generation devices from the Korean phone maker — potentially enabling banks to offer NFC payments without any involvement from mobile network operators.

When asked if the UK NFC launch was connected to the deal with Samsung, a Visa Europe spokesperson told NFC World: “It could well be, but we are not confirming anything at the moment. We are keeping that as a surprise.”

Weve, a joint venture between three of the UK’s major mobile network operators, revealed earlier this week that it will launch NFC payments in the UK in 2014.

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