Customers can simply wave their phone in front of a Visa payWave contactless payment terminal in order to pay. U.S. Bank is one of the first major card issuers in the United States to pilot this landmark technology as employees in multiple states will begin testing this month. Plans are underway to introduce it to select customers next year.

"Our customers have told us that they want to mobilize their accounts with us - they want to make payments with their mobile device and this is a natural extension of our existing banking relationship," said Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer for U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions. "As their trusted financial services provider, we're already offering convenient mobile account access. Now we're adding contactless payment capabilities to their existing mobile device."

Issued by U.S. Bank, a DeviceFidelity In2PayTM microSD is inserted in the customer's mobile phone or within a specially-designed iPhone case (In2Pay iCaisseTM). Visa and DeviceFidelity recently introduced the patent-pending In2Pay microSD based mobile contactless technology and the associated In2Pay iCaisse solution. FIS and Monitise developed the application that enables customers to make mobile purchases and access account information as part of the U.S. Bank pilot.

The solution conforms to the industry standard for memory cards, microSD, and fits into the memory card slot found in many existing mobile devices. U.S. Bank will be testing with several market leading mobile brands. This mobile payment solution is password protected and uses advanced security technology to uniquely identify each contactless transaction. As is true with a lost or stolen card, the chip can be immediately disabled by the bank as needed.

"Consumers worldwide are embracing mobile as a convenient way to engage with and manage their daily financial lives. The ability to link an existing payment account to a mobile phone is transforming how consumers pay and how merchants get paid," said Bill Gajda, head of mobile innovation at Visa. "The solution developed in collaboration with DeviceFidelity will do just that and has the potential to accelerate the adoption of mobile payments in the U.S."

"U.S. Bank is leading the way through the early adoption of contactless microSD solutions, and we are excited to be part of their efforts to bring mobile payments to the U.S.," said Amitaabh Malhotra, chief operating officer at DeviceFidelity. "With the In2Pay solution, we aim to bring the speed, interactivity and security of mobile contactless payments to a user's preferred device, and collaborating with such enthusiastic, innovative partners such as U.S. Bank, Visa and Monitise is a huge step towards realizing that goal."

U.S. Bank is a consistent leader in innovative mobile payment solutions. Last month, the company launched a full-suite mobile banking solution with bill pay capabilities for prepaid cardholders - the first of its kind in the prepaid marketplace. It was also the first large American bank to test the Visa Money Transfer person-to-person mobile payment service, and has partnered with Visa to give cardholders on-the go access to account alerts, offers and a locator service with the Visa Mobile application. In addition, U.S. Bank was one of the first banks to test the Visa Micro Tag, an early contactless mobile payment device.