EU clears mobile e-wallet scheme

European Union antitrust regulators yesterday cleared a scheme by British mobile operators Vodafone, O2 and Everything Everywhere to set up a joint venture allowing users to make payments and purchases over their phones.

Vodafone, Telefonica’s 02 and Everything Everywhere, owned by France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, want to compete with mobile payment services from Google, Apple and Facebook.

The mobile wallet scheme lets consumers use their mobile phones for transactions, instead of having to use cash or cards. The system can also be used by retailers, banks and advertisers.

The European Commission did not set any conditions for approving the joint venture.