As part of the agreement, AnywhereCommerce's "Nomad" EMV-capable chip-and-pin device, which enables Canadian merchants to accept payments through mobile phones and tablets, has received the "Visa Ready" designation.

"We are delighted to participate in the Visa Ready Program," said Mitchell Cobrin, co-founder and chief executive officer of AnywhereCommerce. "Not only does Visa's recognition validate our proprietary design and development initiatives for producing flexible, market-driven mobile point of sale technologies, but it gives us an incredible opportunity to capitalize on the rapid growth of mobile commerce in Canada, as well as many regions around the world."

Created to help accelerate the adoption of innovative payment solutions on a global scale, Visa Inc.'s Visa Ready Program allows companies like AnywhereCommerce to easily navigate the complexities of the evolving payments ecosystem, and expands access to Visa's certifications and best practices.

As part of its participation in Canada, AnywhereCommerce will market its "Nomad" product to merchants using the Visa Ready symbol. Supporting both emerging EMV chip-and-pin and legacy magnetic stripe technology, Nomad is a flexible and secure product that is compatible with iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows 7 and 8 operating systems.

"Without a doubt, mobile commerce represents a seismic growth opportunity for everyone involved in the ecosystem and nowhere is this more apparent than in Canada," added Cobrin. "Our participation in the Visa Ready Program enables us to substantially improve our ability to quickly capitalize on the escalating interest in mobile commerce. It demonstrates Visa's confidence in our product and the VisaReady program shows how significant mobile payments is in the global market. We look forward to serving the needs of Canadian merchants for many years to come."