Visa Inc. last week completed a trial of mobile contactless payments in Australia in collaboration with Melbourne-based ANZ Banking Group Ltd., Vipin Kalra, Visa country manager for Australia, tells PaymentsSource.
During the trial, 50 of ANZ’s staff members tested the Visa Mobile Payment Platform, which uses Visa payWave to support contactless payments through a communication link between phones and payment terminals equipped with similar chips.
“ANZ Bank staff were issued specially designed Apple iPhone cases that incorporated NFC technology via the inclusion of a microSD card and antenna within the case,” Kalra says.
Visa is still evaluating the results of the trial, but initial findings suggest the trial was successful, with some positive user experiences from both participants and retail staff, Kalra adds.
Kalra declined to say specifically when the technology might roll out commercially in Australia. However, with manufacturers committing to the inclusion of NFC chips in their handsets and ongoing collaborations with card issuers, a commercial rollout is near, he says.
Australia has some 30,000 Visa payWave acceptance locations, a number Visa expect will grow rapidly, Kalra says.
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