The “Payez Mobile” program was launched in November 2007 by The Pegasus Group, which is comprised of seven major banks and four mobile operators in France. Gemalto was the program’s original service provider, offering secure deployment and management of contactless mobile payment which did not depend on the network used by the client, and the company has secured its position in further rounds of the trial.

The initial phase of the program has involved 1,000 user clients and 200 merchants in Caen and Strasbourg. The Pegasus Group reports customer satisfaction rates were as high as 90 percent, with the most popular features of this initiative described as the “all-in-one” approach and ease of use.