TfL set to launch mobile phone payment trial

Transport for London (TfL) is expected to launch a trial this week that will enable commuters to pay for their journey using their mobile phone in a similar way to the ease of use they have become accustomed to with Oyster cards, according to media reports.

Although TfL has remained tight-lipped on the issue, reports in today's Guardian newspaper suggest that the organisation is in talks with mobile operator O2 and handset giant Nokia to take advantage of a handset with embedded Oyster card-like contactless authentication capabilities.

TfL declined to comment further on the issue, although it did extend an invite to IT PRO for a launch event taking place this Wednesday.

"You are invited to join O2 and leading partners from the mobile, transport and financial sectors for the launch of a groundbreaking new trial which is going to change the way people use their mobile phones and interact with day-to-day services," stated the invitation.

IT PRO will be attending the event and will provide an update to shed light on the current mystery surrounding the news.

Maggie Holland

Maggie has been a journalist since 1999, starting her career as an editorial assistant on then-weekly magazine Computing, before working her way up to senior reporter level. In 2006, just weeks before ITPro was launched, Maggie joined Dennis Publishing as a reporter. Having worked her way up to editor of ITPro, she was appointed group editor of CloudPro and ITPro in April 2012. She became the editorial director and took responsibility for ChannelPro, in 2016.

Her areas of particular interest, aside from cloud, include management and C-level issues, the business value of technology, green and environmental issues and careers to name but a few.