Visa Inc., Visa Europe and Google today announced an agreement under which Google has taken a worldwide license to Visa’s payWave application, Visa’s popular mobile payment technology. This sets the stage for financial institutions to allow account holders to add their Visa credit, debit or prepaid accounts to Google Wallet. Google Wallet, a mobile application due out this fall, turns a smartphone into a digital wallet. This means consumers will soon be able to make fast and secure payments at retail locations by simply waving their smartphones in front of a payment terminal at check-out.
As the technology develops and accountholders become more comfortable with the convenience and security of a mobile wallet, these devices have the potential to revolutionize the way we buy goods and manage our finances. Against this backdrop, Visa continues to champion an open approach to mobile commerce that allows consumers to choose which system they want to use for mobile payments using the trusted Visa accounts they already have.
Visa’s strategy is to make mobile payments available through a broad range of wallets – including our own digital wallet currently in development. Designed to simplify payment for eCommerce and in-store purchases, Visa’s digital wallet will offer click-to-buy options for easy checkout and automatically save any payment, loyalty, discount or coupon information.
Further reinforcing Visa’s open approach, we recently signed an agreement with Isis, a mobile carrier-led consortium formed by Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, allowing cardholders to choose the best device for their life.
Ultimately, consumers will decide what will succeed, yet as the world’s largest payment processing network and with the wide adoption of Visa payWave, we’re committed to bringing convenience, security and added benefits to our accountholders and merchants alike.
Posted by: Jim McCarthy, Head of Global Product, Visa Inc. on September 19, 2011 at 1:13 pm
