Skip to main content

Austrian mobile payments group reveals new Wallet Initiative

A group of Austria's leading banks, card payment providers and related companies have joined forces to create the Austria Card 'Wallet Initiative' in order to create an open, nationwide standard for mobile wallets. The aim of the standard is to help consumers make contactless payments with their mobile phones via a mobile card as well as enabling them to use special offers by simply tapping their phone at the checkout, in much the same way they would use loyalty cards, vouchers, and coupons.
October 31, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A group of Austria's leading banks, card payment providers and related companies have joined forces to create the Austria Card 'Wallet Initiative' in order to create an open, nationwide standard for mobile wallets.

The aim of the standard is to help consumers make contactless payments with their mobile phones via a mobile card as well as enabling them to use special offers by simply tapping their phone at the checkout, in much the same way they would use loyalty cards, vouchers, and coupons. MasterCard and Visa payments are also integrated.

The group has conducted its first tests of the near field communication (NFC)-based standard, is running a nationwide pilot project during late 2013 and aims to be market-ready in 2014. The standard is expected to be accepted across a wide range of different providers and sectors including retail, transport, ticketing, security and banking.

Mobile network operators will also offer a secure NFC-SIM card option. Members of the initiative include Austria Card, Card Complete, Drei, Erste Bank, First Data Austria, MasterCard, Nexperts, PayLife Bank, T-Mobile and Visa.

Related Content

  • IPS Group unveils new Park Smarter parking app
    March 13, 2018
    US smart parking company IPS Group (IPS), has extended its fully-integrated smart parking solutions with Park Smarter, a mobile payment app that can be used before the car is even parked. The app’s Parking Finder tool locates available parking, and payment can be made using Visa Checkout which eliminates the need to enter card information or billing address in the app. Users can then simply log in using the app’s single sign-on (SSO) capability using the same credentials used as social networking sites
  • 50 years of Cubic Transportation Systems
    August 25, 2022
    If you detect an air of celebration on the Cubic stand, there’s a good reason for it. June 2022 marked 50 years of Cubic Transportation Systems. While Cubic Corporation started 70 years ago, the transportation business began in 1972 and has since been nurtured and developed into a successful $1 billion enterprise and an established leader in the transportation industry.
  • Smart ticketing solution from Init
    October 10, 2016
    Germany-headquartered Init is highlighting the company’s revolutionary ID-based ticketing solution that helps public transport companies to offer their passengers more convenience while streamlining sales. According to Init, other than traditional cardbased ticketing systems, ID-based systems hold the customer data and business logic in the backend system, such as Mobilevario. This approach makes the ticketing system much more flexible. Moreover, the open architecture approach of Mobilevario allows the eas
  • Europe's electronic toll service closer to operational reality
    November 7, 2012
    After much debate and delay, a unifying European Electronic Toll Service is now finally on the horizon, says ASFiNAG’s Klaus Schierhackl. Here, he talks with Jason Barnes about what that might mean. Aworkable European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) which will allow truck drivers to travel across the continent and pay tolls using a single account and OnBoard Unit (OBU) was originally timetabled to be in place and operating by October of this year. A lack of urgency from some of the stakeholders involved in t