Mobile operators abandon joint 'wave and pay' project as Apple looms

A source at one mobile operator said Apple’s move meant it would have to write off gaining a share of payments from iPhone users, who represent about a third of the UK smartphone market.

Operators are likely to focus their efforts on Google’s Android mobile operating system. Google launched its own mobile wallet service for 'wave and pay’ transaction in the US in 2011 but it has failed to take off, leading mobile operators to believe they can take the initiative.

EE launched its own wave and pay app this summer, Cash on Tap, Vodafone will introduce a similar service next month and O2’s parent company, Telefonica, is working with Monitise on mobile payments technology.

Tony Moretta, a founding executive of Weve, who worked on its mobile payments plans until his departure in January, said: “Operating system owners and big handset manufacturers now have the real power in the mobile world - consumers are reliant on them not mobile operators.

“Apple can deliver a consistent user experience for payment on iPhones – mobile operators were not prepared to and wanted to compete with each other.”

Weve will continue other joint projects including its mobile advertising network and marketing messaging service, which are already up and running.

A spokesman for the joint venture said: “Weve’s mandate has always been to explore new commercial opportunities in the mobile commerce arena and to build products and services that make commercial sense.

“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 intellectual property in this market.

“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.”

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