US NFC venture could see Google left out in the cold

US consortium has signed up a number of payment processors, which is likely to be the next step for the UK m-commerce venture

The Near Field Communications (NFC) market has seen several recent developments, after the creation of a US consortium has left Google with just one payment partner to work with in the US, and the recent creation of a similar group in the UK advancing the NFC market domestically.

Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express have all become members of US operator consortium Isis, leaving Google with just MasterCard to pair up with as a payment processor to support its Google Wallet service.

The consortium in the US also includes big hitters such as AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Verizon, and it has announced that the four payment processors will all create mobile payment applications compatible with their Isis infrastructure.

And the UK is just a step behind, with mobile operators Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK announcing last month that they planned to create their own m-commerce joint venture – they haven't signed up any payment processors as yet.

The venture will deliver the technology to drive the adoption of mobile wallet and payments. Rather than the NFC technology being incorporated into handsets, the venture will create SIM-based wallets, meaning users can take advantage of the technology regardless of which NFC-enabled mobile device or mobile network they are using.

The venture will enable companies and organisations that provide credit, debit and loyalty cards, membership cards or transport tickets to create secure mobile versions of their products.

Consumers will be able to use their mobiles to pay for goods, services and travel using NFC or online via mobile or PC.

However, analyst firm Gartner remains unconvinced of the viability of the UK-based venture and has poured cold water on the prospects of phone-based payments going mainstream any time soon, reporting that actual growth in mobile payments has been lower than expected.