50 participants from ANZ and Visa’s Melbourne and Sydney offices have begun a four-week internal trial of a contactless mobile phone application that brings the ‘virtual wallet’ ever closer to consumers.The participants have each been given special protective iPhone cases with a secure microSD memory card to enable them to pay for goods at the counter simply by waving their phones in front of a contactless reader.
The trial is being tested for purchases under $100, which require no PIN or signature, and customers will get the option of receiving a receipt.
The technology is said to be compatible with existing contactless payments terminals which are alredy in place at more than 20,000 retail outlets across Australia, including fast food restaurants, electronic stores, book stores, sporting stadiums, clothing stores and vending machines.
The technology has been developed by DeviceFidelity in partnership with Visa. The microSD payment technology is protected by the special iPhone case, and has a secure memory card that hosts Visa’s contactless payment application, called Visa payWave. It also hosts a prepaid ANZ account which can be topped up via the internet.
Sam Qubrosi, ANZ’s Head of Product Management Consumer Cards & Unsecured Lending, said the trial was all about making banking simpler and more practical for customers. “Mobile contactless payment is the next step in this evolution and we’re excited to be breaking new ground with this trial.”
Visa Australia’s Country Manager, Vipin Kalra, said: “There’s no doubt that mobile Visa payWave will be the way of the future and I’m sure that the participants will find mobile payments to be a convenient and easy replacement for cash, ideal for fast, simple transactions.”
Mobile payments are aimed at giving consumers more flexibility in managing their accounts and receiving real time offers from merchants. Customers will also be able to detect fraudulent activity quickly, and the payment application can be quickly deactivated if the mobile phone is lost or stolen, says Visa.
Visa is backing all payWave transactions, including those initiated by a mobile phone, with its Visa’s Zero Liability protection1 and ANZ Fraud Money Back Guarantee. This means that a cardholder is not liable for any unauthorised transactions if customers report the issue promptly to their bank or card issuer.
