Near Field Communications (NFC) technology means that customers will be able to make payments by simply selecting the Visa mobile contactless application, choosing pay and holding the phone in front of a contactless reader at the point of purchase.

Visa is working with banks and retailers worldwide to roll-out acceptance for Visa contactless cards, as well as mobile phones, as part of an industry wide roll-out of contactless technology.

"Visa, like Samsung, shares the vision of leveraging our Olympic and Paralympic Games sponsorship to leave a lasting legacy in the market for banks, retailers, mobile operators and consumers," said said Peter Ayliffe, the chief executive of Visa Europe.

"We are not only breaking new ground for Olympic partnerships, we are committed to enabling consumers to connect with mobile and contactless payments technology for 2012 and beyond.

"We look forward to working with financial institutions and mobile operators alongside Samsung to make this initiative a success."

In London there are already more than 60,000 locations where contactless payments are accepted and contactless and electronic card payments will be available in the run-up to and during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics.

A Visa-enabled SIM card will be required for use with the device in order to make purchases at retailers who have the contactless payment system.

"Innovation is a key business driver for Visa and mobile payments are one of the main areas we're focusing on," said Mariano Dima, the executive vice-president of marketing and payment solutions at Visa Europe.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games enables us to accelerate our business goals and this partnership plays a large role in achieving them."

Samsung has demonstrated its leadership in NFC-enabled phone technology sinceit launched one of the first commercial NFC phones in France last year.

"As a pioneer in mobile technology, Samsung is striving for long term change in the way we use mobile payments," said Seokpil Kim, the President and chief executive of Samsung Electronics Europe.

"In London next year, we regard the greatest show on earth as the perfect opportunity to showcase how this technology can make a positive difference to people's lives - enabling them to feel closer to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"This mobile payment device will be available in the UK initially, and we plan to expand the service to other countries in Europe and around the world where contactless payment facilities are available in the near future."

Gyehyun Kwon, the vice-president and head of of Worldwide Sports Marketing at Samsung Electronics added: "This marks the very first partnership between two Worldwide Olympic Partners of the London 2012 Games.

"We are delighted to be joining forces with Visa to make the Olympic Games more accessible and convenient for everyone.

"This fits extremely well with our ambition to enable more people to participate in the Games through our smart technology."

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