Sprint planning to launch NFC payment system later this year

Time to add another name to the growing list of companies adopting near-field communication tech. Kevin McGinnis, Sprint's vice president of product platforms, recently revealed that his carrier is planning to roll out an NFC-based mobile payment system sometime this year. Details on the project are still light, but McGinnis did say that Sprint is hard at work with handset makers and other firms in order to create an "open solution where consumers can use their phone in a variety of physical locations.” There was no mention of which manufacturers will be building NFC-equipped phones for Sprint, but HTC said that they're working on phones that incorporate the tech and that one could launch this year.

Last year we heard about Isis, an NFC-based mobile payment system supported by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon that's expected to launch next year. It's pretty interesting that Sprint has decided to create its own mobile payment solution and, while time will tell whether or not that was a good choice on their part, it does look like their system will be in consumers' hands before Isis. Plus, Sprint will soon be launching the Nexus S 4G, which already has NFC tech built in. So, what say you, Sprint users? Does all of this sound appealing to you?

Via PhoneScoop, Bloomberg

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