Cash and credit cards could soon by a thing of the past with customers using their mobile phone or tablet to pay for goods and services, according to Visa.
The payments technology company is currently rolling out an app which will enable consumers to scan their mobile phone or tablet over a point-of-sale sensor, similar to a chip-and-pin device, at the checkout and pay for goods or services.
The money will be immediately debited from the bank account that has been registered to their mobile device.
Slow roll-out
Thus far, the service has been slow to roll-out because only a few mobile phones have near field communication (NFC), which is essential for mobile tap-and-go payments.
However, across Europe in 2013, there will be 40 issuers offering mobile contactless payment services to consumers and by the end of the year around 80 types of smartphone will be certified by Visa to carry out NFC transactions.
“As we continue to see the explosive adoption of mobile devices, our priority in 2013 is to give consumers faster, safer mobile ways to pay,” Peter Ayliffe, chief executive of Visa Europe said.
“The year ahead will see us putting mobile contactless payments into consumers’ hands, and introducing digital wallets on a mass scale for the first time.”
The app will allow person-to-person payments via mobile phones.
This means consumers will no longer need a bank account number to transfer money to someone’s account.
All they will need is the person’s mobile phone number. Once they transfer money using Visa’s app the money will be within the recipient’s account within 30 minutes.
Digital wallet
The company is also in the process of rolling out a digital wallet scheme, a rival to PayPal, but whereby you can use any credit or debit card – not just Visa branded – to pay for items online.
The purchase will still be guaranteed by Visa even if a different card is used to make the payment, the company said.
Visa is predicting one-third of European customers will be using the V.medigital wallet by 2020.
Online spending on Visa cards in Europe topped €200 billion in 2012, while e-commerce by Irish consumers using Visa cards totalled €11.6 billion according to the company.
