Kit giant Ericsson has announced a partnership with Verifone Mobile Money to offer its customers a broader range of mobile payment tools for emerging markets.

Verifone Mobile Money is a joint venture between Verifone and youtap! to provide mobile money solutions for of mobile operators in emerging markets. The Ericsson Wallet Platform is a white-label mobile wallet solution for its operator customers.

“This partnership will enable Ericsson’s customers to realize the economic benefits of increased volumes of payment transactions, wider mobile money adoption and an improved consumer experience,” said Chris Jones, Chief Executive of VeriFone Mobile Money. “NFC and contactless payments drive wallet adoption transactions at the merchant, and cashless economies. We are excited about the partnership and look forward to a long-term relationship.”

“Ericsson’s M-Commerce work includes a primary focus on financial inclusion efforts that bring greater mobile money flexibility to traditionally unbanked citizens, especially in emerging markets,” said Peter Heuman, Head of M-Commerce at Ericsson. “Our partnership with VeriFone Mobile Money represents continued advancement of these efforts, helping mobile subscribers with more choices in where and how they can shop.”

Mobile money has long been considered to be especially important in developing markets, where access to the internet or even basic banking is often difficult. By partnering with Verifone Ericsson is increasing its presence in these markets, which are often the biggest drivers of growth.