As mobile payments begin to heat up, there are a few different solutions with which consumers will have at their disposal, including the current Google Wallet, the upcoming Android Pay, and Apple Pay. There will be more than enough solutions to cover the majority of people who use a smartphone. All of those payment solutions run off of either NFC, or some other type of technology which requires the consumer to tap their phone up against the point of sale machine. VISA today has announced a new type of mobile payment system in partnership with numerous banking institutions that will not only be capable of being used from smartphones, but it will be contactless so consumers won’t even have to touch their devices to point of sale machines at registers, however they will still have to wave their device over the contactless readers in supported locations.
VISA’s new solution will allow for the capability for consumers to pay directly from their phone through an application from their bank that is available on the play Store. Once the service goes live and all banking institutions that are partnered with VISA have update their apps to use this feature, consumers will be able to visit participating retail stores and businesses and pay for things effortlessly and quickly. The banks that VISA is currently in partnership with are U.S. Bank, Banco do Brazil, PNC bank, and N.A., which are scheduled to be releasing their mobile payment apps sometime in the near future, while BBVA and Cuscal have already launched their mobile payment apps that will utilize this service.
This new system and partnership is part of the efforts of VISA’s digital solutions. This new system also builds off of the technology that VISA announced and launched at least year’s Mobile World Congress which allowed financial institutions to take advantage of the tech and use it to release mobile payment apps on Android. With VISA’s new solution in place and coming to more banks down the road, consumers will begin to have more choice than ever for a mobile payment solution allowing them to leave their traditional cards at home and simply pay with their smartphone.