Telefónica Europe business was rebranded to 'O2 Online' which continues in the UK as a mobile communications service provider tied to the O2 UK network. The Genie portal properties were rebranded O2 Active in UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, and Genie Asia became O2 Asia. O2 Asia became a subsidiary of O2 UK for governance purposes. On 31 October 2005, O2 agreed to be taken over by Telefónica, a Spanish telecommunications company, with a cash offer of £17.7 billion, or £2 per share. According to the merger announcement, O2 retained its name and continued to be based in the United Kingdom,
O2 Money application for Android and iOS devices. The application will use NFC technology embedded in a phone to access money banked with Barclays via O2. O2 began trials of NFC technology in , with 500 individuals participating in the trial. The individuals used a specific Nokia handset to make payments at selected retailers, and travel the London Underground with transactions made via Barclays. O2 has since been in discussions with large retailers, such as Tesco and W. H. Smith, for the deployment of the necessary electronic point of sale units, and with handset manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, to enable