Today, we’ve announced plans to create a mobile marketing and payments joint venture (JV) with Everything Everywhere and Vodafone.


The JV will be the first of its kind in the UK and, if approved by the relevant authorities, it will bring a host of benefits to consumers across the country through relevant and targetted offers and deals and payment services like the mobile wallet.   

We hope to launch the JV by the end of the year and what excites me most about this deal is not only is it a UK first, but I believe it also has the potential for other countries around the world to use the model we have created.

We believe the new business can deliver the services and technology needed to see faster adoption of the mobile wallet and related payment services. The wallet itself will enable customers to transfer their entire physical wallet onto their mobile device. And they’ll be able to purchase products or services online, or in-store through Near Field Communications (NFC). It’s about giving customers a great experience and bringing them new and innovative products that can make their lives easier. 

It also means retailers and advertisers will be able to deliver much richer marketing campaigns, direct to their phone – making it simpler and easier for businesses to connect to customers.

Our teams in O2 Media and O2 Money have been doing a tremendous job since we launched them in 2009. We have well over two million customers opted-in to our O2 More service and the launch of O2 Money has led to the fastest growing pre-paid debit card in the country.  In fact, we now have over 800,000 customers across our portfolio of financial services products. 

Our media and money services are a fundamental part of our future vision, where growth outside of mobile connectivity will be key. The JV will enable us to accelerate our plans and scale more quickly in this area.

Earlier this year we committed to launching a mobile wallet in the second half of 2011. And as part of the JV, we aim to make it easier for the businesses who want to launch services through mobile marketing and mobile money by creating a single point of contact, removing the need for multiple deals with multiple operators. 

I’ve also been very clear this year about the role innovation plays at O2 in growing our business and this joint venture will help simplify our delivery so that we can focus on being truly innovative.

Ronan Dunne, CEO Telefónica UK

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