Mobile networks abandon Weve's universal smartphone 'wave and pay' app
A universal smartphone wallet app being developed by mobile payment company Weve on behalf of several mobile networks has been dropped after they failed to agree on how the app should function.
An NFC mobile payment
According to The Telegraph, Weve, the mobile marketing and wallet joint venture between EE, O2 and Vodafone, has had its ‘wave and pay’ service abandoned by the networks six months before its release after they could not fully agree on the app's functionality.
The project was dropped by the mobile networks after Apple announced its own Apple Pay near field communication (NFC) service which will be used to purchase goods and services with a single swipe.
Instead of the universal ‘wave and pay’ smartphone app, the networks are expected to instead release individual payment apps in the coming months. This is despite, the firm, in February reaching an agreement with Mastercard to help drive a high volume mobile transactions.
A Weve spokesperson would not confirm or deny the news but instead told the Drum: "Weve's mandate has always been to explore new commercial opportunities in the mobile commerce arena and to build products and services that makes commercial sense to do so.
"To date, we have already launched two very successful products in the shape of a messaging and a new advertising display service. Weve has also done a great deal of valuable work exploring opportunities in the UK mobile payments space in 2014, yielding insight and developing significant IP in this market.
Adding: "We continue to believe there is a great deal of potential in mobile contactless payments and we are currently working on developments where Weve can help streamline the mobile payments process."
Despite the set-back, Weve has previously announced significant advances in targeted display ads - and it will continue to work on NFC mobile payments.
Weve saw the departure of founding CEO, David Sear in July, having joined online payment company, Skrill.
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