Visa Cemea has signed Jordanian mobile phone operator Fastlink to the SMS-based m-payments system it has developed in partnership with Anglo-French mobile payments specialist Upaid.
The service enables pre-paid mobile phone users to recharge airtime direct from a Visa card account by sending a SMS/text message.
The Upaid technology enables multiple banks and mobile operators to connect to a host platform that processes transactions. The Upaid system handles the transfer of ISO 8583 authorisation and top-up message requests between the bank and the operator and authenticates the end-user, based on MSISDN and PIN numbers.
Visa says Jordan is the first in a series of markets to launch the m-payments system, with Serbia and Morocco to follow in the coming months. Hilary Mitchell, head of mobile commerce, Visa International Cemea, adds: "By the end of the year we expect to have launched Visa's solution in an additional five Cemea markets."