Visa and Samsung to Trial Contactless Payment during Olympic Games
- Visa and Samsung are getting ready to launch a PayWave contactless mobile payment app during London Olympic and Paralympics Games.
- In addition m-payment features, this solution will also enable its users to access their transactions history and prepaid account balance. For both players, this event is a means to trial their products and, according to Visa, the app could be proposed this same year.
- For this sports event, 3,000 NFC-compatible terminals have been installed to promote the use of contactless payment, some technologies of which have already attracted a large number of people in Great Britain– with, for now, more card solutions than mobile adoptions (see previous Insights).
- The Olympic sponsors Visa and Samsung started developing their common project in March 2011 and have since managed to have Lloyds TSB joining in for mobile payments issuance.
- Visa has been performing a large number of tests and conducting several mobile deployments these days. The card network is taking advantage of the mobile medium as well as of a global interest in prepaid solutions, and here applies them to an exceptional event and to small amount transactions. Also, it does not neglect the potential of the mobile prepaid market in developing countries (see Visa mobile app launched in two African countries end 2011).