Visa Europe launches Mobile Person-to-Person
payment and Visa Alerts services
New mobile payment services help banks realise the future of payments
LONDON, UK, 28th September 2011 – Visa Europe, Europe’s leading payments technology company, today announced the launch of Visa Mobile Person-to-Person payments and Visa Alerts: two new services designed to help consumers manage their money and make payments using their mobile phones.
Announced this morning by Visa Europe Chief Executive Peter Ayliffe in his keynote speech at the EFMA conference in Paris, the new services give Visa Europe’s member banks the tools to respond to growing consumer demand for fast, secure, convenient and innovative ways to make and manage payments using their mobile phones.
Peter Ayliffe said: “The way we pay is changing, driven by the rapid uptake of new technologies and growing consumer demand for more flexible payments. Today’s announcement is the first in a series of new products and services that Visa Europe will be launching in the coming months to reflect the fundamental shift in consumer behaviour. We are already seeing early adoption of mobile payments, and in the coming months we will see the arrival of mainstream NFC technologies, advanced loyalty and e-commerce services, and ultimately, the launch of a new digital wallet.”
Visa Mobile Person-to-Person payments
Visa Mobile Person-to-Person payments allow registered users to transfer funds to any Visa cardholder in Europe from their mobile phone, backed by all the security and expertise of Visa Europe’s industry-leading processing systems. The app makes it easy to send money to an address book contact, to a mobile phone number, or to a specific Visa card number – whether or not the recipient is registered with the service.
Benefits of Visa Mobile Person-to-Person payments:
· Very easy and convenient mobile payments – whether it’s twenty Euros borrowed from a friend for a taxi ride, an easier way to split a group restaurant bill or sending some funding to a student at university
· No need for a separate dedicated account
· The same level of security that is the hallmark of all Visa transactions
· Recipients don’t need to be registered with the service to receive a payment
Visa Alerts
Visa Alerts notify registered Visa cardholders on a real-time basis whenever their card has been used to make a purchase or to withdraw cash through Visa Europe’s payment network.
Benefits of Visa Alerts:
· An easy and instant way to view transactions at home or abroad
· A convenient way to record payments without needing to keep every paper receipt
· A safeguard against fraud – consumers know at once if their card has been used without their permission
The services are commercially available to Visa Europe’s member banks from October 2011.
Visa Mobile Person-to-Person Payments and Visa Alerts have been developed by Visa Europe in partnership with Monitise, the first of many services that will be made available through the partnership announced in early 2011.
* At launch Visa Mobile P2P payments will be available through an English-language Android application and will support transfers in a single currency for Visa and V PAY cardholders within Europe. Support for other mobile Operating Systems, multiple currencies and payments to and within non-European countries will be added over following months.
About Visa Mobile P2P payments
Making payments using the Visa Mobile Person-to-Person service is simple and does not require the recipient to have pre-registered with the service. The service runs from an easy-to-use smartphone application that allows customers to send money to an address book contact, a mobile number or to a Visa card number.
The person making the payment (the sender) needs to:
1. Have a Visa card issued by a bank that supports the service
2. Have registered for the service and downloaded the smartphone application
Money is then automatically transferred into the recipient’s Visa card (debit, credit or prepaid).
The recipient does not need to be registered with the service.
About Visa Alerts
Visa Europe Members will be able to choose between two Visa Alerts services:
1. Visa Alerts Data Feed: A service that allows Members with an existing alerting platform the ability to enhance their solution with near-real-time alerting capability. These alerts can be customisable to the needs of individual cardholders and can cover notifications for card transactions made abroad, at ATMs and when buying online.
2. Visa Alerts Full Service: A service providing Members who currently have no alerting capabilities with a full, turnkey solution which they can use to provide their cardholders with near-real-time alerts when their Visa card is used. Again, these alerts can be customisable to the needs of individual cardholders
About Visa Europe
As a leader in the development and implementation of payments technologies, Visa Europe is at the forefront of contactless and mobile payment innovation in Europe.
Visa Europe is owned and operated by more than 4,000 European member banks and was incorporated in July 2004. In October 2007, Visa Europe became independent of the new global Visa Inc., with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe. As a dedicated European payment system it is able to respond quickly to the specific market needs of European banks and their customers – cardholders and retailers – and to meet the European Commission’s objective to create a true internal market for payments. For more information, visit www.visaeurope.com
About Monitise
Monitise plc (LSE: MONI.L) is a technology company delivering mobile banking, payments and commerce networks worldwide with the proven technology and expertise to enable financial institutions and other service providers to offer a wide range of services to their customers in developed and emerging markets.
With live services in the UK, the US, India and Africa, Monitise is working with its international partners to extend trusted and secure mobile banking, payment and commerce services in territories worldwide, including Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Monitise has a global alliance agreement with Visa Inc. and a strategic partnership with Visa Europe. Other leading partners and clients include FIS, RBS, NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, First Direct, U.S. Bank, Ulster Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Travelex, Vocalink, Vodafone, Orange, O2 and T-Mobile (Everything Everywhere), 3 UK, Research In Motion, Best Buy Europe, The Carphone Warehouse, First Eastern, Astra, JETCO and PCCW mobile. More information is available at www.monitisegroup.com
