New Zealand's mobile operators this week finally launched their jointly-developed mobile wallet, enabling smartphone owners to make contactless payments.

Semble is a joint venture between incumbent Spark, Vodafone, and 2degrees. The service consists of an Android application and a secure SIM card for authenticating transactions.

Once the customer has got hold of a Semble-ready SIM from their operator, they then download a Semble Android app – each operator has its own specific version of it – which allows them to upload and store their card details. A range of cards from two New Zealand banks, ASB and BNZ, are supported. To make a contactless payment, the user's smartphone must be equipped with near-field communications (NFC).

"The company's vision is to replace all the cards in the over-stuffed wallet within one integrated app," Semble said.

"We have produced a mobile wallet that can cater for a wide range of services and what we are launching today with payments is just the beginning," said Semble CEO Rob Ellis, in a statement on Tuesday. "We look forward to welcoming many more service providers to the Semble marketplace, including more banks as well as loyalty cards, public transport cards, ticketing, offers, vouchers and much more."

The joint venture was established in April 2012 as TSM NZ. The founding members were Spark – known back then as Telecom New Zealand – Vodafone, 2degrees and payment platform specialist Paymark. It adopted the consumer-friendly Semble brand in October 2014, and began a live pilot in November.

Following the launch of its mobile wallet, the next step will see Semble launch a trial in April of an enhancement to the service that enables consumers to redeem special offers at point of sale.

Total Telecom