Visa Inc. Announces Trials in Brazil, Canada and Malaysia Based on Visa Mobile Platform

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and PARIS, FRANCE.-Visa Inc. today announced mobile payment trials in Brazil, Canada and Malaysia based on the Visa mobile platform. The trial in Brazil is testing mobile remote payments, while trials in Canada and Malaysia will test mobile Visa payWave transactions at contactless acceptance locations.

The new trials directly support Visa’s mobile strategy to enable product development and commercialization of mobile payment services through market tests. The Visa mobile platform is already supporting a number of trials worldwide, including in Asia and the United States. The trials announced today add to Visa’s global experience in testing mobile payment services.


* In Brazil, Visa is working with Companhia Brasileira de Meios de Pagamento (VisaNet do Brasil), the acquiring institution for all Visa debit and credit payment transactions in- country, to test mobile remote payments. Remote payments are transactions which are initiated through the mobile network and enable consumers to conduct payments through their mobile devices while on the go. The trial enables testing of consumer preference for remote payments and is scheduled to begin in 2008.
* In Canada, Visa is working with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to test mobile Visa payWave transactions based on the Visa mobile platform. The Ontario-based trial is scheduled for 2008 and will involve multiple phases including in-lab analysis, an RBC staff pilot, and a consumer test. As part of the trial, mobile phones with an embedded Near Field Communications (NFC) contactless chip will enable users to make mobile Visa payWave transactions at contactless acceptance locations.
* In Malaysia, Visa is working with Maybank, Maxis and Nokia on a trial with 100 staff to test mobile contactless payment. The trial, which began in October 2007, builds upon Malaysia’s existing contactless infrastructure and uses Visa mobile platform enabling technologies to download and personalize the Visa payWave function over-the-air (OTA) and to deliver a graphics-rich consumer experience.

“We are long past the era where mobile devices are only used to make voice calls,” said Elizabeth Buse, Executive Vice President at Visa Inc. “Payments over mobile devices at the point of sale are already being tested by Visa in a number of countries worldwide, and the addition of remote payment capabilities simply extends the ways consumers can use their mobile devices to make life easier.”

About the Visa Mobile Platform
In 2007, Visa introduced the Visa Mobile Platform, a global initiative that provides a comprehensive suite of technology tools and applications designed to enable product development and commercialization of mobile payment services. The Visa mobile platform provides consumers with a consistent experience for all types of payments, regardless of phone type or geography, and is designed to work within the existing infrastructure established by mobile carriers and financial institutions. In addition to supporting the development of mobile payment solutions, such as mobile proximity payments, mobile remote payments and mobile money transfers, the platform also supports the development of payment-related services, such as account management and security alerts to enable consumers to monitor account activity through a mobile device, and mobile offers that can be redeemed at the point of sale.