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Smartphone 'wallet' set to replace change [Scotsman, The (Scotland)]
[March 05, 2012]

Smartphone 'wallet' set to replace change [Scotsman, The (Scotland)]


(Scotsman, The (Scotland) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SHOPPERS will be able to pay for small purchases using only their smartphones following a new partnership between mobile giant Vodafone and credit card operator Visa, which will create a "mobile wallet".From the autumn, customers of the network with specially- enabled mobile phones will be able to use their handsets instead of cash or cards at the checkout.The technology will allow users to pay for goods or services with a wave or tap of their smartphone - in the same way Oyster cards are used on the London Underground - paving the way for a society where cheaper goods previously paid for with cash will require just a single swipe of a phone.The announcement is the latest in a wave of so-called "contactless" payment technology, which began with Barclaycard in 2008.Last week, Barclays bank revealed a smartphone app, Pingit, which allows users to transfer money between accounts by just using their phones.Meanwhile, Mastercard recently announced its PayPass system - where mobile phone networks can send customers a sticker to put on any existing phone, via which they can pay for goods.The latest service uses a form of payment technology called Visa payWave mobile, which will be available on "near field communications" phones such as the BlackBerry Bold and some types of Samsung Galaxy. Set to launch worldwide from the spring, it will be based on the Visa prepaid account and available to users of the Vodafone stored value account.While consumers can simply swipe their phone at a payment terminal to pay for less expensive items, such as newspapers or coffee, they will be asked to enter a Pin code into a terminal for purchases of GBP15 or more."Our mobile wallet will be open to any service provider and we are committed to enable all partners to provide our joint customers the richest service portfolio possible," said Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao.Visa said the service had "the potential to transform the way people pay and get paid the world over".Major brands such as Boots, EAT, Pret a Manger and Stagecoach Group have previously signed up to card-based contactless payments.Peter Ayliffe, chief executive of Visa Europe, said Visa's partnership with Vodafone represented a "huge stride forward for mobile payments"."Visa's future of payments initiative is more than just a promise: these services are real, tangible and coming to the mainstream consumer market in the very near future," he said.Neil Aitken, a spokesman for Payments UK, said "The talk is definitely going one way at the moment and there is a definite appetite for contactless technology, not just from businesses, but from consumers too." (c) 2012 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.



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