DUBLIN, Calif. and MADRID, Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc., the global leader in mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, today announced a global, strategic partnership with Telefonica Digital to provide mobile wallet services. Sybase 365 will help develop Telefonica's mWallet, which will be the gateway for its customers to a wide range of mobile financial services.

The mWallet, provided by Sybase 365, will be a virtual wallet which will offer a convenient and secure way of accessing a range of services from a stored value account through to payments and peer-to-peer transfers. It will be capable of storing prepaid, debit, credit and loyalty cards, thereby simplifying online purchases. And as NFC technology becomes more widespread it will be possible to make payments directly from the wallet via compatible handsets and point of sale terminals.

"The mobile wallet lies at the heart of our financial services strategy and it is crucial that we deliver a strong, simple and secure user experience to our customers," said Joaquin Mata, Head of Financial Services at Telefonica Digital. "Sybase 365 is a leader in its field whose expertise will be a key element in helping us bring the best customer experience to market."

The partnership with Sybase 365 is the latest development as Telefonica builds its global capabilities in the mobile financial services space.

"With the ongoing convergence of technology and agreement amongst key players in the ecosystem, mobile commerce services are a fast developing global phenomenon," said Matthew Talbot, Senior Vice President of mCommerce, Sybase 365. "We are very excited to be partnering with Telefonica to provide such a comprehensive mobile wallet offering.   This is a great example of how mobile operators, financial institutions, enterprises and merchants collaborating with innovative technology built with the needs of the end customer in mind can extend mobile financial services to millions around the world."

Mata continued, "It is crucial that we assemble around us the best possible technology partners to power our mobile financial services products. Through partnership we can bring the best experience to our end user customers."

Telefonica expects to see the first commercial wallet services launching in Latin America and in Europe during the first half of 2012.

IN RELATED NEWS, today Sybase issued its second annual Mobile Commerce Guide 2012: Strategies for Financial Institutions, Mobile Operators and Enterprises to Implement mCommerce services in Developed and Emerging Markets.

About Telefonica Digital

Telefonica Digital is a global business division of Telefonica. Its mission is to seize the opportunities within the digital world and deliver new growth for Telefonica through research & development, venture capital, global partnerships and digital services such as cloud computing, mobile advertising,  M2M and eHealth. Telefonica Digital will deliver these innovative products and services to Telefonica's 300 million customers as well as leveraging the power of the internet to enter new markets. It is headquartered in London with regional centres in Silicon Valley, Sao Paolo, Spain and Tel Aviv. Jajah, Terra, Tuenti, giffgaff and 48 are all part of the Telefonica Digital group of companies.

About Sybase 365

Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. (an SAP company; NYSE: SAP), is the global leader in enabling mobile information services for mobile operators, financial institutions and enterprises. We provide our customers with the widest offering in SMS, MMS, GRX, IPX interoperability, end-to-end mobile commerce solutions, innovative mCRM, mobile marketing and content delivery services. Sybase 365 processes more than 1.8 billion messages per day, reaching over 900 operators and 5.2 billion subscribers around the world. For more information, visit: www.sybase.com/365. Read our blogs: http://blogs.sybase.com. 

Sybase and Sybase 365 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sybase, Inc. All other company and product names mentioned may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. ® indicates registration in the United States.

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SOURCE Sybase 365