ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA ("RY-T")
ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC ("RCI-T")
- Rogers Wireless Joins RBC and Visa in Mobile Phone Payment Pilot
RBC, Visa and Rogers Wireless have come together for the next phase of
the mobile phone payment pilot, which will ultimately allow Canadians the
flexibility to make purchases securely at the point of sale with a wave of
their mobile phone. The customer phase of the mobile phone payment pilot is
expected to launch in mid-2009, following a brief employee pilot.
Designed to be a fast and convenient way for customers to pay for small
purchases, pilot participants will be issued specially-equipped mobile
phones that can simply be waved at Visa payWave-enabled checkout readers at
select retail stores and quick-service restaurants in Toronto's downtown
core.
"As Canada's largest wireless provider, Rogers Wireless is continually
seeking ways to provide our customers with new and innovative services that
will add value to their lives," said David Robinson, Vice-President, New
Business Planning, Rogers Wireless. "This pilot is the first step to making
our customers' mobile phones as indispensable as their wallets and we are
excited to be working with Visa and RBC on this new wireless payment
service."
As part of the pilot, Motorola mobile phones outfitted with Near Field
Communication (NFC) contactless chips will enable customers to make
purchases using the Visa payWave feature just as they would with a
contactless RBC Visa card. The functions tested in the pilot will include
the secure delivery and storage of account information to the mobile phone
and the security of mobile payments at retailers.
The pilot will be the first in Canada to test secure over-the-air (OTA)
delivery of mobile payment software and credit card information to a
customer's mobile phone. Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, is
providing this capability by acting as the Trusted Service Manager and
securely bridging banking with mobile phones. Gemalto, who currently
produce RBC Visa chip cards, will manage the transfer of credit card
information from RBC to the secure SIM card in the Rogers Wireless
NFC-enabled mobile phone, using the same high level of security and
encryption used to issue RBC Visa chip cards.
"We're delighted to have Rogers Wireless on board to move our payment
pilot with Visa forward," said Anne Koski, head, Payments Innovation, RBC
Global Cards. "Our clients will definitely appreciate the convenience of
making purchases using their mobile phones and we look forward to their
feedback on this pilot."
RBC was the first Canadian financial institution to offer a credit card
with chip technology nationwide and was the first to announce its
intentions to offer the Visa payWave feature on its cards. Mobile payments
are yet another extension of RBC's commitment to offer clients convenient
and secure payment options.
Supported by Visa's mobile payment platform, pilot activities will
allow RBC, Rogers and Visa to better understand customer behaviours and
their perceptions of the payment experience before the service is provided
to consumers.
"Visa aims to be the best way to pay and our approach to innovation
reflects this goal," said Mike Bradley, Head of Products, Visa Canada.
"Allowing consumers to use their mobile phones to pay with Visa is an
innovative new service, and also adds value to retailers, financial
institutions and mobile operators."
About Visa
Visa operates the world's largest retail electronic payments network
providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes
consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered
under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys
acceptance around the world and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest
global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than
170 countries. For more information, visit
www.corporate.visa.com
.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada and its subsidiaries operate under the master
brand name of RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and
market capitalization, and one of North America's leading diversified
financial services companies. We provide personal and commercial banking,
wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking,
and transaction processing services on a global basis. We employ
approximately 75,000 full and part-time employees who serve more than 17
million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through
offices in Canada, the U.S. and 46 other countries. For more information,
please visit rbc.com.
About Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless provides wireless voice and data communications
services across Canada to more than 7.7 million customers under both the
Rogers Wireless and Fido brands. Proven to operate Canada's most reliable
wireless voice and data communications network, Rogers Wireless is Canada's
largest wireless provider and the only national carrier operating on the
global standard GSM and highly advanced HSPA technology platforms. In
addition to providing seamless roaming in more than 200 countries/areas
with its GSM based services, Rogers Wireless also provides wireless
broadband services across Canada utilizing its 2.5GHz fixed wireless
spectrum. Rogers Wireless is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc, a
diversified Canadian communications and media company. For further
information, please visit:
www.rogers.com
.
TSX closing price for RY
Date: 2008/10/29
Closing Price: 45.430
