First SIMpass-enabled Mobile Phone Launched in China

China Unicom has launched a mobile phone based payment service in the city of Chongqing which enables users to use their phone to pay for transport tickets and at various retailer for normal purchases. The 'Cqpass' is a multi-system mobile payment service first to use the SIMpass enabled custom-made mobile phone that was unveiled in Chongqing last month.

SIMpass is a Single Card Near Field Communication (SC-NFC) platform. The custom-made mobile phone for this service is developed under the cooperation between China Unicom, Chongqing Yucheng Transportation Card, Guohong Telecom and Digital Group and Watchdata that provided the SIMpass technology.

The Cqpass mobile payment service has all the functions similar to the regular Yucheng Tong Card and can be used to pay for bus rides, cable car rides, hotels, parks entrance and restaurants. Apart from these functionalities, it also features transaction record query and card number display.

In 2009, the project will start the development of its second stage of application that would link the subscriber's bank account to enable the OTA top-up functionality.

The commercial launch of China Unicom's Cqpass mobile payment service also marks the first release of Watchdata's SIMpass custom-made mobile phone. The SIMpass antenna is integrated into the back cover of the mobile phone, without making major changes on the mobile phone main board. The RF antenna then connects to the SIMpass card in the standard SIM card slot.

In 2008, Watchdata's SIMpass technology was applied to enable subway ticketing via mobile phone in Guangzhou City in the province of Guangdong China. Other SIMpass projects include Xiamen, Dalian, Suzhou and Hunan province.

Posted to the site on 28th January 2009