Weve, the joint venture between the three major mobile network operators that is working to bring mobile payments services to market in the UK, has chosen customer interaction specialist The Logic Group as one of its first technology providers.

The Logic Group will help design and build a central database to support a loyalty and coupon pilot for the joint venture between EE, Telefonica UK and Vodafone, which was originally known as Project Oscar.

"Part of our vision at Weve is to transform how the consumer can use loyalty on their mobile for their best advantage," says David Sear, CEO of Weve. "That means having access to the cards they want to use at hand when they want to use them and understanding the benefits at that moment that using that particular loyalty programme can deliver."

"From a business perspective a better understanding of how loyalty can improve and impact their engagement with their customers, based upon accurate and consistent insight into customer behaviour, is imperative."

Weve told NFC World it could not reveal the technology to be used in the trial, or where it will run, at this stage — but did confirm that choosing The Logic Group is the first step in preparing a loyalty pilot.

Mark Kusionowicz, marketing director at The Logic Group, told NFC World that although the company recently announced a partnership with NFC provider Proxama, it is not directly tied to the collaboration with Weve.

"There was an element of timing involved," he said. "We thought both announcements should be made at the Retail Business Technology Expo as part of our overall mobile strategy but the two partnerships aren't directly linked."

"With the Weve partnership we're quite open to different forms of distribution, whether that's QR codes, barcodes or even Bluetooth," he added. "The Logic Group and Weve do believe in the power of NFC but there's no guarantee this will be used in the pilot.

"We have an important part in closing the last two inches as it were and we absolutely believe in NFC in the future. For this partnership though, it's Weve's call."