M-wallet: Akbank Integrates Turkcell’s Cep-T Cüzdan
- Akbank chooses Cep-T Cüzdan, m-wallet platform proposed by mobile operator Turkcell.
- The player steps in the track of Yapi Kredi and Garanti Bank, first to have been attracted to Turkcell’s solution and to have proposed this m-wallet.
- Customers used to have to get NFC-compatible Gemalto SIM cards or add on an NFC antenna. This process is no longer necessary as the mobile operator allows those disposing of a Turkcell’s SIMPlus 256 ship to download the wallet from its website: thus rendering its adoption less tedious.
- Akbank very early took position in favour of NFC technologies (see August 2010 Insight), and deems that partnerships between banks and mobile operators are unavoidable, if not even necessary, to the development of mobile payment. Turkcell is a major player in Turkey where it holds over 50% market shares: it is backed by its implantation in a particularly mature country in terms of mobile contactless payment.
- In August 2011, this operator selected NXP Semiconductors’ PN544 contactless ships for its own Android-based NFC-compatible Smartphone to help develop Cep-T Cüzdan.