Visa Europe and Wireless Dynamics Inc bring contactless payments to iPhone.
Visa Europe mobile contactless payment solution brings the convenience of mobile payments to iPhone users across Europe.
London - 25 January, 2011 - Visa Europe and Wireless Dynamics Inc. today announced that they have developed a mobile contactless payment solution that will bring Visa contactless payments to iPhone users across Europe.
iPhone users simply attach the Wireless Dynamics iCarte accessory, available through their bank or mobile operator, to their iPhone and download the companion Visa Mobile application for iCarte App from the App Store. The iCarte accessory contains an antenna and an embedded Secure Element where the Visa mobile card is safely stored. This "card", in turn, works with an app from the App Store to enable payments on the iPhone. Once the Visa mobile card is activated, consumers can start making purchases by simply launching the app and touching their iPhone on any contactless-enabled point of sale terminal across Europe, without the need to enter their PIN*.
The iCarte accessory is designed to equip iPhone users with the tools they need to buy goods using mobile contactless technology from a growing number of European retailers. Visa Europe's first deployment has been launched in collaboration with Yapi Kredi bank and Turkey's largest mobile operator, Turkcell. Yapi Kredi customers equipped with a Turkcell mobile plan will be the first who can purchase directly from their iPhone at 40,000 contactless point of sale terminals in Turkey using their iCarte payment accessory. The product is also being used in the UK with Visa staff in London with partners FIS, a leading provider of prepaid platforms, and Coventry Building Society. To further commercialise the accessory, Visa Europe will engage its member banks and partner mobile operators in Italy, France, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK, all of which have rapidly maturing contactless payment infrastructure.
Sandra Alzetta, SVP, Head of Innovation at Visa Europe said: "It's clear from trials across Europe that mobile contactless payment is a strong and compelling customer proposition. Visa recognises that consumers who use smart phones like iPhone are more likely to be early adopters of advanced payment technology. Given that the availability of a wide range of mobile devices supporting contactless services remains a key hurdle for take-up, we are overcoming this obstacle by bringing the capability to the iPhones already in their pockets."
Ambrose Tam, President and CEO at Wireless Dynamics commented: "Working with Visa Europe to commercialise our iCarte accessories is a leap forward in increasing the number and types of mobile payment solutions. We've worked hard to design and build a feature-rich and appealing product for our partners and iPhone users across Europe."
A consumer research** across Europe conducted by Visa Europe in Italy, Poland, Turkey and the UK has confirmed strong consumer demand for mobile contactless payments with 41 per cent of respondents stating that they "definitely would" or "probably would" sign up to use Visa mobile payments. Critically, this percentage increased to 57 per cent when directed to iPhone users, which demonstrates that the device is the ideal cross-over of target mobile users and consumers with positive attitudes to new payment technologies. The research also indicated that 87 per cent of this iPhone users surveyed would be willing to use an accessory to enable their device for mobile contactless payments.
The Wireless Dynamics iCarte accessory is compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPhone3G on iOS 3.1 or higher. The iCarte Secure Element can be associated with multiple Visa accounts.
Notes to Editors * The card is fitted with a security measure of an aggregate limit for contactless transactions, which is automatically re-set once your PIN is entered. Periodically cardholders will be asked for their PIN to ensure that the card remains with the genuine owner. A PIN may also be required for higher value purchases.
wdi.ca
Wireless Dynamics has announced iCarte, an iPhone add-on that adds NFC and RFID capabilities (read and write) to the iPhone. This could be used in many ways, like contact-less micro-payments, public transportation tickets and information gathering (ads, promos…). NFC is very popular in countries like Japan. In France, the subway system is equipped with NFC to replace paper tickets. Last summer, there were rumors that Apple would integrate NFC in the next iPhone, and if that was the case, Wireless Dynamic might be able to build on the momentum with iCarte. This product uses a smart chip from NXP Semiconductors. They too would benefit from the NFC boom predicted by some.
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