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Visa Inc.'s partnership with Banco do Brasil to offer remote mobile-phone payments is part of a larger plan for Latin American countries, a Visa executive tells CardLine. "We see an opportunity to extend these types of products and services to those geographical areas where they don't exist," says Jurgen Wassmann, e-Visa vice president for the Latin America and Caribbean region. On Tuesday, Visa announced Banco do Brasil's Visa cardholders can pay for goods and services with their mobile device and confirm the transaction via text message. The service is accessible through any Brazilian mobile-phone carrier, Wassmann says. Visa also is working with other Brazilian banks to offer the service, Wassmann says. The card brand is conducting surveys throughout the rest of Latin America to determine if the service catches on in other countries. "We are in the first stages of this concept," Wassmann says. "We have to prove that this works. Based on the results of those studies, we will definitely consider (expanding the services)." Visa chose Brazil for the first rollout because it has a strong mobile-banking history dating back to 2000, Wassmann says. "They are accustomed to doing some sort of financial activity on their mobile phones," he says.
