NFC service unites bank, carrier

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) and China Mobile have launched a near field communication (NFC) service which allows customers to use their smartphones to make mobile payments, the two companies announced late last week at a press conference. The collaboration marks the first time a bank and a telecoms company have teamed up to offer such a service on the Chinese mainland, although media reports say that China CITIC Bank and China Unicom are at work developing a similar service. Alipay, the third-party payment service provider operated by e-commerce titan Alibaba, is also reportedly creating an NFC application for use on public transportation services.