September 25th, 2008
Visa to develop apps on Android, Nokia phones
Visa said Thursday that it will develop applications for Android and Nokia phones with mobile payment systems planned for the latter.
First up, the company said Chase Visa cardholders could get notifications about transaction activity on Android phones (statement). Visa added that location-based services, maps and merchant offers will also be delivered to Android phones. Visa plans to expand the program to other account holders at other banks and financial institutions.
Visa has been expanding into mobile payment statements for the day where phones can become currency. In a statement, Visa noted it wants to “accelerate the migration from paper forms of payment to digital money.” Visa, along with partners such as Google, Intel, Nokia and Singapore Post, was demonstrating new payment technology in New York.
In addition, Visa said it will develop applications for Nokia’s platform (statement). Visa’s plans for Nokia go beyond what it is doing with Android. Visa plans to develop contactless payments, remote payments, money transfer and alerts and notifications for Nokia’s 6212 Classic and next generation handsets. Visa’s rollout starts in October.
The Visa-Nokia payment rollout will start with a trial with interested institutions.
Why can’t Visa do mobile payments with Android? In a nutshell, Nokia’s handsets have integrated “near field communication” chipsets. These chips allow a device to act like a payment card so consumers can swipe the phone during a purchase. Nokia and Visa have launched numerous trials abroad, which makes a lot of sense given contactless payment systems are more advanced overseas. The U.S. is just getting started.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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