Telecom Italia, Visa Europe Offer Mobile Wallet to 31 Million Consumers (Nov. 12, 2013)
An agreement announced today between Telecom Italia and Visa Europe will bring mobile payments capabilities to more than 31 million Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) customers throughout Italy, enabling them to make contactless payments using certain NFC-equipped smartphones at POS terminals across Europe.
The new mobile wallet program, the result of successful pilots around Milan, includes P2P payments, e-commerce capability for online shopping and a TIM-branded Visa card, designed in partnership with Italian banking and financial services provider Intesa Sanpaolo.
Telecom Italia and Intesa Sanpaolo a year ago launched the pilot for the m-payment service at the GSMA’s NFC Mobile Money Summit in Milan. The Italian telco also partnered with Netherlands-based digital payments security provider Gemalto to power the mobile wallet.
“Italy is ripe for this type of service; it is the leading market for prepaid products in Europe and Italians have always been quick to adopt the latest trends in mobile technology,” said Davide Steffanini, general manager Italy, Visa Europe. “We see this collaboration as a true catalyst to drive forward Visa’s vision for the future of payments in the market.”
