US credit card giant Visa Inc is developing technology that will allow the company to take advantage of the budding mobile device payment business, a Taiwan-based company executive said yesterday.
The service could become available later this year, after a joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co was successful during the Olympic Games in London last summer, Visa Taiwan country manager Macro Ma (麻少華) told a media briefing.
“The increasing popularity of mobile devices makes the new payment service desirable and practical,” Ma said. “The company is working with partners in setting up the necessary infrastructure.”
Services that offer convenience and a limited number of restrictions are most likely to be readily accepted by users and survive ever-changing market conditions and competition from other service providers, he said, as local lenders are toying with the service.
Visa Inc is aiming to gain footing in a mobile device banking market that has been dubbed the greatest invention since the credit card as a method of payment without cash. When the service is ready, handheld devices will be upgraded to function as an electronic wallet, he said.
Ma shrugged off competition from EasyCard, produced by Taipei EasyCard Corp (悠遊卡公司) for payment for travel on the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), saying the overlap between the two was limited.
EasyCard, though popular, has limited scope with an average spend of NT$100, while Visa cards average NT$890, Ma said.
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