www.gomenews.com - Turkcell is claiming an industry first by introducing an application which enables Android handset users to pay the tolls when crossing bridges and passing motorway toll-booths contactlessly via NFC (Near Field Technology) technology. Currently the app is only applicable to Turkcell’s own-branded T11 Android handset. The handset is believed to be made for Turkcell by China’s ZTE and is therefore ZTE’s first released NFC-enabled handset. The system has been created in collaboration with Bank Asya and entirely eliminates the need to carry an NFC compatible plastic transmission card (KGS). (source)
The app itself is actually SIM-based so subscribers will also need to possess a Turkcell SIMPlus 256 SIM card.
To get going, a T11 handset owner needs to request the relevant KGS application from Bank Asya. This app is available via Turkcell’s own application store – T-Market.
Significantly, the app can be used in conjunction with Turkcell’s previously launched mobile wallet technology.
Known as Cep-T Cüzdan (mobile wallet), this enables the handset to pass payment to the KGS toll-booth system.
Turkcell’ chief new technology business officer, Cenk Bayrakdar, explained, “In collaboration with Bank Asya, and with the participation of Smartsoft, we have taken a revolutionary step, marking yet another global first with Cep T-Cüzdan in the transportation arena.”
He continued, “With this application, we not only offer our T11 customers the convenience of contactless transmission when using bridges and toll roads, but also remove the need to carry plastic cards.”
Bayrakdar further commented that, “We have opened a new era with theTurkcell Cep-T Cüzdan, having become the first operator in the world to introduce a commercially available mobile wallet solution, supporting multi-bank applications based on a MasterCard solution.”
Three of Turkey’s leading banks, Yapı Kredi, Garanti and Akbank, have now completed their integration and made their applications available on Cep-T Cüzdan.
It means that those who load both KGS and Cep-T Cüzdan application on their mobile phones can pay road tolls without having to physically visit a bank or payment point on the turnpike roads.
What we think
This is truly a pioneering effort by Turkcell which has managed to combine multiple technologies which have been readily available but never fully integrated before. Effectively it has worked with a software house, banks, and a device manufacturer to prove that contactless payments via an NFC enabled smartphone can actually work.
Source: http://www.gomonews.com/nfc-first-for-turkcell-with-contactless-road-toll-payment-application/ - Sept 2, 2012
