Microsoft Launches its Own NFC-Enabled Wallet for Windows Phone 8

Microsoft has unveiled its near field communications-enabled mobile wallet, as part of its planned Windows Phone 8 operating system. That's good news, long term, for NFC, but it makes the near term mobile wallet and payments business even more fragmented. Windows Phone will be the third major mobile platform to support a wallet, after Google’s Android-based NFC wallet and the recently announced Passbook wallet from Apple. 


But unlike Google, Microsoft has made it clear it will support subscriber information modules (SIMs)  as the secure element to anchor payment and other secure applications in its wallet. That is a carrier-friendly move in keeping with Microsoft's traditional approach to the mobile handset business. 


Windows Phone 8’s new digital Wallet will allow users to keep debit and credit cards, coupons, boarding passes, and other credentials in the device. When paired with a secure SIM from a mobile carrier, it will support payment functions.