Nokia today announced an NFC version of the recently launched Nokia Lumia 610. Orange will be the first operator to carry the Lumia 610 NFC, which can pair with NFC accessories and read NFC tags.

The Lumia 610 NFC also has the hardware and software enablers for the implementation of NFC payment and ticketing solutions and has been certified for contactless payments both with MasterCard PayPass technology and with Visa’s mobile application for payments at the point of sale, Visa payWave.

Given Nokia’s involvement in the mobile payments space with its Nokia Money, many were surprised when the initial Lumia devices didn’t include NFC technology. Early last month, however, Nokia announced that it would exit the mobile financial services business as part of efforts to streamline the company around its core strengths.

The Lumia 610 NFC is expected to be available early in the third quarter of 2012.