Samsung, Visa deal adds payWave mobile payments to phones
updated 04:55 pm EST, Mon February 25, 2013
Future NFC-enabled Samsung devices to have app preloaded
Visa and Samsung has inked a deal that could help speed up the adoption of mobile payments globally. The initiative will see the phone manufacturer preload the Visa payWave applet onto future devices that use NFC technology, as well as helping financial institutions to push payment information to the mobile devices as an over-the-air update, for storage directly on the device.
The deal stems from previous pilot schemes between the two companies, the most notable of which took place at the Summer Olympic Games in London last year. While the most recent Olympics did not take advantage of payWave technology, it did enlist the use of over 3,000 contactless terminals across the games venues, and the introduction of a commemorative smartphone for the event. The next Olympics are said to extensively use payWave.
No mention has been made as to what Samsung devices will be preloaded with the payWave app, nor if it is possible for the system to be implemented on existing mobile devices.
