Visa Creates Global Cell Phone Payment System

From ClickToNews

[edit] Abstract

The Visa company has been setting up and preparing for a new global payment system using cell phones to pay for goods and transfer money from one person to another.

[edit] Details

At the trade show in Las Vegas this past week, Visa made a big announcement. Noting the increased use in cell phones and the increase use of credit cards in fraud cases, Visa has quietly been working on a new method of payment for the entire world: pay by cell phone.

Cell phone payment systems have been on trial in scattered and small scale tests in various locations around the world, including Europe, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and Australia.

The new system is to be phased in a couple of stages. The first stage will see users paying for goods and services by swiping their visa-compatible cell phones near a vendors reader. The cell phones will have a hidden chip that interacts with the vendor’s reader. The customer would then push a confirm button on their phone to confirm their transaction - which would then automatically deduct the amount owning from the proper account.

The goal is to eventually allow payments over cell phones without a vendors reader - allowing people to make payments and transfer funds directly from their cell phone - no matter where they are.

Visa is not going alone on this one either. They have teamed up with many partners, including IBM and Nokia, to name a few. However, there was no mention of when this new form of payment will be available, what kind of cell phones / hardware users (and vendors) will require, and how much it will cost.