Nokia and Visa have inked a deal that will embed Visa functionality in to the Nokia 6212 Classic, enabling American owners to upload their Visa accounts on to the handset, allowing users to transfer money between handsets over the wireless network.

This is not the first time the se two have worked together. They worked on NFC deployments and trials, and the 6212 Classic does have NFC technology built in. This project will start with 6000 users, but according to RFID Journal, is the first phase of a roll-out rather than a trial.

This is also significant as it’s the first time users have been given the ability to transfer funds directly themselves, making it a significant step towards mobile phone as a form of currency.

NFC handsets such as the 6212 Classic contain something called an electronic wallet, which can have applications such as Visa’s PayWave installed in it.

One of the issues has been about under whose control that wallet should be, i.e. who holds the cryptographic keys that determine which applications are appropriate. The London NFC trial was notable in that O2 was permitted control over a few virtual wallets, through the SIM, but the vast majority fell under Nokia’s control.

This new deal solidifies the position. Nokia want to deal directly with its users, and Visa is present to provide a trusted brand while the network operator is reduced to the status of an ISP.

Nokia has given the network operators plenty of opportunity to take control of the NFC wallet, but if they won’t the manufacturer will be more than happy to offer the service to customers.