The FINANCIAL -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) announced on November 16 a collaboration between its venture, touchatag and Clear2Pay, one of the leading worldwide payment solutions providers to create a mobile payment framework for mobile operators.

This framework will allow users to purchase products, buy tickets or transfer money using their mobile phone. For example, by placing a Near Field Communications (NFC) enabled mobile phone over scanners at a point-of-sale terminal, a user can use his phone as a wallet.

This partnership addresses the specific needs of mobile operators that seek to offer innovative new ways for businesses to market their goods and services. The capabilities of the mobile phone, RFID, SMS, Web 2.0 services, and location information, combined with payment, allow merchants to enhance their customer relationships with virtual loyalty cards, coupons, tickets and membership IDs delivered directly to a user’s mobile phone.

Through this co-operative effort, Clear2Pay and touchatag have created a payment and stored value account (SVA) solution that will allow merchants to enjoy fast point-of-sale transactions, collection and redemption of loyalty points, issuance of gift cards, delivery of electronic store receipts, interactive advertising and promotions as well as enhanced customer relationship management analytics. Users gain the benefit of easy payments and checking transactions and balances in real time on their mobile phone. In addition, users can manage many relationships with merchants, banks, and day-to-day applications without adding single use cards to their physical wallet. Initially, the relationship will focus on delivering proximity/contactless payment using RFID stickers and tags and evolve to NFC enabled mobile phones. In the future, the same platform will deliver remittance payments, person to person payment services and SMS ticketing.

The touchatag venture, will market the solution to mobile operators and is providing identity management and contactless application management via its Application Correlation Server (ACS). The group will also operate Clear2Pay’s stored value account (SVA) server for micro-payments. Clear2Pay operates ClearPark , a gateway to 3rd party payment providers and will continue to address the needs of financial institutions and the payment community.

Michel Akkermans, Chairman and CEO at Clear2Pay comments: “We are happy that a leading telecom player such as Alcatel-Lucent selects our technology for stored value in order to offer customer facing payment solutions to their customers. In these challenging times, the market is looking for profitable and secure mobile solutions which have true business potential. We are confident that with this alliance we will be able to offer just that.”

“People want to user their phones to pay for everyday items. Clear2Pay’s knowledge of the financial world and touchatag’s experience in mobile networking are combined to allow people to use their phones for a wide variety of payments options,” said Anthony Belpaire, General Manager of the touchatag venture. “In linking Clear2Pay’s global payment gateway with touchatag’s identification management services, we have an end-to-end solution for mobile operators.”

The companies will be demonstrating the payment framework at the Cartes trade show in Paris, from 17 to 19 November, at booth 3G018.

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