This year Visa has teamed up with technology giant, Samsung, to throw their name into the rapidly growing hat that is Near Field Communications (NFC) payments. NFC technology is being used to bolster the future of consumer payments via mobile devices.
Olympic Launch
By using payWave, Visa-sponsored athletes and other VIP visitors will be able to pay for goods by simply waving their devices at thousands of retail locations throughout London while the Olympic Games are in session. payWave is Visa’s response to MasterCard’s PayPass Wallet Services. While both credit card applications will operate in the same fashion, it’ll be interesting to see if Visa opens up their platform to developers in the same way MasterCard will do.
Visa will have three different ways for consumers to use this new payment option:
Visa Card
Visa payWave feature offers consumers convenience and flexibility
Magnetic stripe enables traditional payments
Visa Mini Card
The first alternative Visa payWave payment device
Measures half the size of a traditional card
Includes Visa payWave and magnetic stripe functionality
Visa Micro Tag
Visa’s first payment device designed exclusively for Visa payWave payments
The Visa Micro Tag is easily accessible on any key ring
Designed to be small, durable, practical, and convenient
Looking Into The Future
It looks as though the move away from tangible payment methods has begun, though some people said the same thing when credit cards first came into being in the 1950s and we’re still toting them around. Still, with technology advancing ever faster, and Moore’s Law ( The exponential improvement of technology every two years) still being disproved, it may not be too long before retinal scans are all that’s needed to pay for goods and services.