31 August 2012 7:09am

Westpac is running a trial to allow customers with a debit MasterCard to turn their Android smartphones into contactless payment devices. The bank has partnered with Optus and Oberthur Technologies for the pilot, and hopes to release the system next year.

The trial uses Oberthur’s "trusted service manager" platform that allows the data held on an EMV debit card to be stored in the secure element of the phone’s SIM card. Using near field communications technology – but without the need for a dedicated NFC chip – the mobile phone can be tapped against an NFC reader to make a...