Visa Inc. unveiled its new special offers mobile payment app, placing it in a crowded market for merchant perks that also includes a major push by rival MasterCard Worldwide.
The card company is working with a list of merchants—such as 24 Hour Fitness, Jos. A. Bank, Meineke, New York & Company and Zales—to deliver discount offers to account holders.
The discounts are provided through the Visa Mobile application. The offers are stored in the application and can be redeemed online or at brick-and-mortar locations. The app, available as a free download from the iTunes app store, also uses location-based technology to provide consumers with a map and directions to a nearby retailer where they can redeem the merchant offers.
The offers can also be tailored to match consumers lifestyles and interests, with consumers selecting from categories such as clothing, dining, jewelry, travel, entertainment or retail goods.
While not comparing Visa’s offer directly with MasterCard’s Overwhelming Offers—in which special offers at participating merchants are posted at regular intervals via mobile devices—Prakash Hariramani, a senior business leader at Visa, says the Visa offer is positioned as a way to drive consumers to merchants for “everyday spending” items.
What makes the two apps similar is they are both a way to get consumers accustomed to using mobile devices as part of the shopping experience as a means to boost overall adoption of the devices.
“Merchants love to have an extra channel. Mobile is unique. If you can marry an offer with a location, you can drive traffic,” Hariramani says.
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