Samsung to pre-load mobile devices with Visa NFC app

25 February 2013 | 7870 views | 2 Visa web screenshot

Visa has struck a global deal with Samsung which will see the mobile phone giant pre-load the contactless payWave applet onto its mobile devices featuring NFC technology.

The arrangement - unveiled at Mobile World Congress - means that, off the shelf, selected next-generation Samsung devices are ready to be personalised with Visa payment account information.

Banks will be able to load this information over-the-air to secure chips embedded in the handsets using Visa's Mobile Provisioning Service, which is linked to the Samsung Key Management System.

This means customers can then add contactless payments functionality to their device through an application provided by the bank.

Mariano Dima, EVP, Visa Europe, says: "A Samsung device equipped with the Visa contactless payment service is a powerful proposition and will allow us to make mobile payments a reality for people around the world."

Won-Pyo Hong, president, head of media solution centre, Samsung Electronics, adds: "We believe that we have a strong value proposition for financial institutions that will ultimately allow consumer choice in NFC payments."

Meanwhile, Visa has also signed an agreement with mobile commerce provider Roam designed to enable merchants to accept electronic payments using mobile technology.

Under the deal, Ingenico subsidiary Roam will participate in the Visa Ready Partner Program and has agreed to bundle its mobile point-of-sale hardware peripherals with Visa's acceptance technology.

Jim McCarthy, global head, product, Visa, says: "Visa, through its mPOS partner program, is committed to accelerating the use of mobile technology to enable merchants worldwide to accept Visa payments. Our agreement with Roam will help us reach that goal globally."

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David Carr - European Prepaid Consultants - Middx | 26 February, 2013, 09:15

This in theory sounds like a good way forward, as long as this is not exclusive to Visa as this is not the only game in town. My NFC accounts are not all Visa and when we talk about Prepaid most are MasterCard.

I also get nervous when terms such as "Banks" can load this information over the air. We have seen the relative slow adoption by the banks so I believe it will still be up to the niche players to get this into the market.

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Corbyn Munnik - YourCash - Milton Keynes | 26 February, 2013, 10:25

This is very encouraging for the adoption of NFC mobile payments as VISA now have a channel to around 30% of the smartphone market. I agree, the mention of Banks unsettles me somewhat, and for this factor alone it is hard to tell how much that original percentage will be diluted in reality.

My big question is how will Apple respond, having already NFC enabled the Passbook App for Anroid is it a given that the next generation of Iphone will be NFC enabled or will Apple be distruptive and facilitate mobile payments with other means?

Corbyn Munnik

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