ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.-While some payments analysts have said mobile payments could grow quickly and prompt the U.S. to skip right past chip cards, one person suggests that the advance of mobile could actually speed the adoption of EMV.
Kenton Potterton, VP of product management for card payments at PSCU, termed mobile the "wild card" that could really get EMV going in the U.S. "I think mobile and EMV are almost joined at the hip. I think merchants see more value in the mobile transaction-we are seeing so much increase in the usage of smart phones."
Potterton expects many more handset manufacturers will begin adding contactless chips to their devices, possibly the next version of the iPhone. As merchants don't want to miss out on the growing mobile payments, and the additional advantages they bring-like advertising and instant store discounts-Potterton said merchants will begin upgrading terminals to support contactless payments.
"When they do that, it makes sense, given the Visa and MasterCard EMV mandates, to upgrade terminals to support EMV as well as mobile."
