Alcatel-Lucent today launched a mobile payment framework for operators. The solution is offered by its JV, touchatag with Clear2Pay as an alliance partner.

The solution converges mobile services, RFID, SMS, Web 2.0 and LBS allowing merchants to enhance customer relationships with initiatives such as virtual loyalty cards, coupons, tickets and membership IDs delivered directly to a user’s mobile phone.

For merchants, the solution promises to provide a framework allowing fast point-of-sale transactions, collection and redemption of loyalty points, issuance of gift cards, delivery of electronic store receipts, interactive advertising and promotions as well as enhanced customer relationship management analytics.

To start with, the alliance aims to offer RFID based payment solutions and in future will offer remittance payments, person to person payment services and SMS ticketing. Identity management and contactless application management via its Application Correlation Server (ACS) will also be offered as part of the solution.

Michel Akkermans, Chairman and CEO at Clear2Pay comments, “We are happy that a leading telecom player such as Alcatel-Lucent selects our technology for stored value in order to offer customer facing payment solutions to their customers. In these challenging times, the market is looking for profitable and secure mobile solutions which have true business potential. We are confident that with this alliance we will be able to offer just that.”

“People want to user their phones to pay for everyday items. Clear2Pay’s knowledge of the financial world and touchatag’s experience in mobile networking are combined to allow people to use their phones for a wide variety of payments options,” says Anthony Belpaire, General Manager of the touchatag venture. “In linking Clear2Pay’s global payment gateway with touchatag’s identification management services, we have an end-to-end solution for mobile operators.”