Partnership with Telefonica and VisaNet Peru Underscores Growing Demand for Electronic Payments and Services in Latin America
SAN FRANCISCO & BARCELONA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 23, 2009--
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), the global leader in payments, announced the start
of a mobile payment program in collaboration with VisaNet Perú and
Telefónica. Pago Móvil con Visa (Visa Mobile Pay) is a new
service that allows Visa cardholders in Peru to pay for products and
services by simply initiating a payment over the wireless network. The
service is available to Visa accountholders with credit or debit cards
issued by Banco de Crédito, Interbank, BBVA Continental and Scotiabank
in Peru.
Visa’s first commercial mobile payment program in Peru, announced today
from the second annual GSMA Mobile Money Summit in Barcelona, is the
first program of its kind in Latin America. Initially, Visa account
holders will be able to use their mobile phone to pay for cab fares and
send flower arrangements, as well as to top up their wireless prepaid
account. Other merchant segments are scheduled to be added, such as
deliveries of pharmaceutical products, gas distribution and catalog
orders.
“We are reaching a milestone in the payment industry in Latin America,”
said
Jurgen Wassmann
, Head of Emerging Products and Channels for Visa
Inc., Latin America and Caribbean Region. “Visa is bringing the future
of payments to Latin America with a technology that makes consumers’
lives easier by allowing them to pay anytime, anywhere, and in a way
that is both simple and convenient.”
Pago Móvil con Visa is particularly appealing to merchants in
remote regions and to mobile businesses with no access to a wired
telecommunications infrastructure. The service enables merchants to
accept electronic payments via the wireless network, eliminating the
need for a traditional (wired) payment terminal. VisaNet Perú, the
acquirer of Visa credit and debit payment transactions in Peru, is
overseeing the implementation of Pago Móvil con Visa.
From Trial to Commercialization
“Consumer demand for secure, efficient access to mobile financial
services is on the rise globally,” said
Tim Attinger
, Global Head of
Product Development for Visa Inc., during his keynote address at the
Mobile Money Summit in Barcelona. “We are reaching a tipping point where
our early efforts in testing mobile payment technology around the globe
have begun to drive mobile commerce from tests into full commercial
deployment.”
The launch of Pago Móvil con Visa comes just weeks after the
launch of the world’s first commercial Visa mobile payments service for
point-of-sale transactions using Near Field Communications (NFC)
technology. The program was announced jointly with Maxis, the largest
wireless carrier in Malaysia, with more than 11 million subscribers;
Nokia, the world’s leading handset manufacturer; and Maybank, a leading
financial institution in Malaysia. The service launch marked the first
time consumers can purchase a NFC-enabled mobile device at a wireless
store, and use that device to make payments at the point-of-sale instead
of swiping a traditional payment card.
Visa is bringing its expertise in payments to the wireless industry and
is actively collaborating with wireless network operators, financial
institutions, handset manufacturers, platform and technology providers.
Visa’s mobile strategy is to extend the reach of its global network to
bring mobile financial services to consumers in both emerging and
developed economies. The company already provides mobile payments and
related services through partner carriers and financial institutions on
five continents.
About Visa Inc.: Visa Inc. operates the world's largest retail
electronic payments network providing processing services and payment
product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and
commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron,
Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the
world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks,
offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries. For
more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
Source: Visa Inc.
Visa Inc.
Elvira Swanson, 415-932-2564
globalmedia@visa.com