The European Commission has unconditionally approved the UK’s Project Oscar mobile payments joint venture.
According to the EC, its in-depth investigation into the JV, a near field communications alliance between mobile operators Everything…
The European Commission has unconditionally approved the UK’s Project Oscar mobile payments joint venture.
According to the EC, its in-depth investigation into the JV, a near field communications alliance between mobile operators Everything Everywhere, Vodafone and O2, showed it was unlikely to significantly impede competition. This is in spite of the venture attracting strong criticism from Three, the UK’s smallest mobile operator, and technology giants Google and PayPal.
Joaquin Almunia, the European commissioner for competition, said: “The commission is keen on promoting innovation in this area and ensuring that the markets remain open so that a number of competing solutions can emerge without undue obstacles, to the benefit of consumers.”
Project Oscar aims to accelerate the development of the UK’s nascent mobile commerce sector. The JV’s owners are looking to deploy a mobile wallet system nationally so that consumers will be able to use their handsets to pay for transactions across the country. However, it will first look to launch a mobile marketing platform to help foster a suitable environment for the necessary infrastructure.
A joint statement from Project Oscar stated: “With EC clearance received, the job of getting the JV up and running as quickly as possible can begin, starting with the hiring of the necessary people and the creation of the new company”.
The statement also reaffirmed the JV’s commitment to make its services “open to all, including all operators and MVNOs, 3rd party publishers, banks, advertising agencies, retailers and any company that wants to engage in this space”.
Meanwhile, EE, Vodafone and O2 are continuing to develop their own mobile payments products independently, in partnership with MasterCard, Visa, Barclaycard, respectively.
