PingPing and Coca-Cola Enterprises have concluded a partnership agreement on Near Field Communication (NFC) for Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After launching a pilot project in April 2009, the two companies concluded a partnership agreement to equip 5,000 automatic vending machines in those countries with the PingPing payment solution.

Implementing the machines with a compatible NFC reader will start at the end of 2010. This will make Belgium the first European country to be equipped with a contactless payment solution.

To buy a cold beverage, customers will simply hold their tag (News - Alert) (a sticker on their mobile phone) or PingPing card in front of the machine’s reader. In the near future, the NFC technology used by PingPing will be directly integrated into mobile phones via the SIM card.

Stijn Vander Plaetse, vice president of Innovation at Belgacom (News - Alert), said, "After the success of contactless payment in the mobility field, this partnership with the major player in the beverage sector again demonstrates the soundness of our innovative strategy which aims to transform the mobile phone into an electronic wallet. We are convinced that PingPing can offer a simple, efficient solution for small, daily purchases."

Bob Emmerson (News - Alert) is TMC's European Editor. To stay abreast of the latest news affecting the European market, check out Bob's columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf