Visa Mobile Payment Services for Android Phones with Coupons & Location Apps

By Contributor Wireless and Mobile News on September 25, 2008 12:27 PM

Visa Inc is planning to make mobile payment-related services broadly available to United States consumers by the end of the year and support applications for the Android platform, which will be available for download on Android-powered handsets and initially available to Chase Visa cardholders.

The first set of services that Visa is planning to develop for Android will allow Chase Visa cardholders to receive notifications to their mobile devices about transaction activity on their accounts; obtain offers'; and use the built-in location-based technology developed by Google to map nearby merchants where they can redeem Visa offers and locate ATMs that accept Visa.

During an introductory period, Visa mobile services that will be developed for the Android platform will first be offered to Chase Visa account holders. Following this initial launch phase, Visa plans to work with additional card-issuing financial institutions to extend availability of its mobile services for Android to their Visa account holders.

Visa is also developing a payment application that will enable consumers with Visa accounts to make mobile payments in retail locations nationwide, or while on the go, over wireless networks.

As industry leaders, J.P. Morgan Chase and Visa share a commitment to working to meet consumers' demand for information-rich services that will make their handsets more useful in helping them accomplish what is most important to them.

Visa mobile services developed for the Android platform include:

* Alerts: Consumers will receive near real-time notification of purchase activity based on customized cardholder preferences. The consumer will be able to personalize the types of alerts delivered to their mobile device according to pre-selected parameters, such as the size of the transaction, or whether the transaction is in foreign currency. Because these alerts are triggered by the transaction as it passes through the Visa network, consumers will receive notifications almost immediately, typically before they even leave the store. This adds a new layer of peace of mind when using Visa, and a new way to combat fraud.

* Offers: Consumers will receive targeted offers from merchants directly to their phone. These offers - ranging from discounts to loyalty offers - could be based on a consumer's previous purchase activity. For consumers and merchants alike, this service will ensure the most relevant offers are sent in a timely manner, helping increase merchant traffic, loyalty and customer satisfaction.

* Locator: The Locator service is expected to integrate with technology developed by Google, such as Google Maps and Google location-based services, to show consumers nearby locations of merchants sending them offers, or of an ATM that accepts Visa. The location would be called out on a map displayed on the mobile device screen.