TELECOMS group O2 is to become the first UK mobile phone operator to apply for a new ‘e-money’ licence allowing customers to text each other funds.
The firm, which employs 1,700 staff at its Preston Brook site near Runcorn, is applying for a financial services licence which will be regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
The licence will also allow customers to buy train tickets and goods and services with their mobile phones.
Matthew Key, chief executive of O2’s Spanish owner Telefonica Europe, said the service could be launched this summer.
In a weekend interview he said: “Our strategy is to bring to market a mobile wallet, taking everything you currently carry in your physical wallet and putting it in your mobile.”
The e-money licence is set to be incorporated into UK law this spring after a European directive.
It will allow O2 to provide a range of financial services without the participation of a bank.
