News
Visa Pushes Ahead with Mobile Payments
(09 Apr 2009, BWCS Staff)Credit card giant Visa has announced the launch of its first commercial mobile payments technology. The system uses stored credit card details on a mobile device which are read by point of sales terminals using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. According to a press release from the credit card company this is the first time that consumers will be able to purchase an NFC-enabled mobile device off the shelf and use that device to make Visa payWave-enabled transactions at the point-of-sale, instead of using their payment card.
According to Elizabeth Buse, Global Head of Product at Visa Inc "We believe that Visa's NFC mobile payment launch in Malaysia signals a tipping point for the payments industry globally as we move from mobile payment pilots to commercial availability," she said. "Malaysia has historically been an early adopter of new payment technologies. The launch of Visa's first commercial NFC programme in Malaysia is based on Visa's experience gained from undertaking extensive pilot activities around the globe and is something Visa plans to replicate in other places around the world."
Visa has been working with Malaysian mobile operator Maxis, which has some 11 million customers, local financial services company Maybank and Nokia on the launch of the new Visa payWave service on mobile devices. Maybank Visa account holders can now simply wave their NFC-enabled Nokia 6212 handsets in front of a contactless reader to complete a secure Visa transaction.
Visa points out that the contactless chip embedded in the device will also power a number of additional functions, including a contactless transit application that enables Malaysian commuters to pay for charges while using metropolitan transit systems, bus terminals, highway toll gates and car park facilities at more than 3,000 contactless payment touch points throughout the country. Maxis has branded these mobile payment services under the name Maxis FastTap.
Over the last two years, Visa, which says its brand is accepted in some 30 million merchant outlets worldwide, has worked closely with mobile network operators, handset manufacturers, financial institutions, merchants and technology provider to develop and commercialize mobile payments and related services. It is about to expand its trial of mobile payment services in Singapore where it is working with mobile operator M1 and 750 retail outlets. In Canada it is working on a similar scheme with RBC, and Rogers Wireless.
Back