O2 UK are now set to support NFC mobile payments, but are holding off on doing so for the moment. NFC technology allows for short range communication between devices and is being used to trial mobile payment systems using mobile phones. The user would swipe his mobile phone near an NFC terminal, which would debit the account on his phone for the relevant amount of money.

O2’s trial of the technology began in 2007 and was met with generally good feedback. However, for such a system to be successful it would require a critical mass of networks, manufacturers, banks and retailers to support it hence O2’s decision not to dive straight in and begin rolling out devices straight away.