HTC eyes mobile payment platform

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has signed a deal with China Union Pay to unveil a smartphone in China that would allow mobile payments through the country's only credit card network, says Focus Taiwan News Channel.

The 'HTC Stunning', a 4-inch smartphone powered by Google's Android operating system, will allow users to apply for mobile banking services such as remote bill payments and contactless payments, according to an HTC statement.

Currently, UnionPay cardholders can only make payments at about 40 000 contracted stores and can access 17 000 of the country's ATMs. China UnionPay has 2.6 billion credit and debit cards in circulation in different countries worldwide.

HTC, the world's fifth-largest smartphone maker, has urged Taiwanese financial institutions to jointly develop a near field communication (NFC)-based mobile payment platform, reports NFC World.

“Our cooperation with China Union Pay is just the beginning, and we believe the mobile payment app will also become a critical application in Taiwan,” says Steve Wang, associate VP of HTC's mobile application and software design.

Tech Crunch reveals that while some smartphone OEMs, like Nokia, for example, have included NFC in their handsets for years, others are just now jumping on the trend, thanks in a large part to the NFC initiatives as well as support from nearly all major players, from banks to carriers to mobile operating system makers, like Google's Android and RIM's BlackBerry.