By Samsung and Visa have announced a partnership to bring their payWave partnership to the masses on a global scale. All Samsung smartphones with NFC chips will come pre-installed with Visa payWave. It’s safe to assume the Galaxy S4 will get that treatment, and we can probably expect Samsung to load the software onto the Galaxy Note 8.0 that was just announced, as well.
Samsung could also look to load the software onto existing phones via an over-the-air upgrade, but the Korean company hasn’t announced any details regarding that just yet.
Of course, those who don’t roll with Visa might be left out of the fun, but other options do exist. We have a feeling Visa and Samsung are reaching quite the wide user-base, however, as the former commands the top spot among credit card companies, while the latter is the world’s biggest phone manufacturer. A match made in heaven? Perhaps. We just hope this won’t keep Samsung from eventually doing something with the likes of Mastercard, American Express or Discover in the future. Read on for full press details.
Visa and Samsung Sign Global Alliance Agreement to Accelerate Mobile (NFC) Payments
Financial institutions will be offered a secure service to download payment account information to Samsung’s mobile devices.FOSTER CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 25, 2013– Visa and Samsung today announced a global alliance that combines Visa’s expertise in payments with Samsung’s leadership in mobile device technology – an alliance that has the potential to significantly accelerate the availability of mobile payments globally.
According to the agreement, financial institutions that are planning to launch mobile payment programs will be able to use the Visa Mobile Provisioning Service1 to securely download payment account information to NFC-enabled Samsung devices. In addition, Samsung has agreed to load the Visa payWave applet onto its mobile devices featuring NFC technology. Visa payWave is Visa’s mobile payment applet that enables consumers to make “wave and pay” contactless payments using mobile devices.
“Samsung devices enabled with Visa payment functionality will no doubt be a powerful product offering – especially in markets where paying with a mobile device is becoming commonplace,” said Jim McCarthy, global head of product, Visa Inc. “However, the key to making mobile payments broadly available all over the world is to offer financial institutions a secure way to provision millions of smartphones with payment account information – and that is exactly what Visa and Samsung are ready to deliver.”
“Samsung has been a pioneer in NFC devices and is again leading the way in enabling NFC-based mobile payments. The partnership with Visa represents a step towards a global mobile payment platform,” said Dr. Won-Pyo Hong, President and Head of Media Solution Center, Samsung Electronics. “We believe that we have a strong value proposition for financial institutions that will ultimately allow consumer choice in NFC payments.”
Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is the global communication standard that enables mobile devices to securely communicate with a payment terminal. ABI Research forecasts that a total of 1.95 billion NFC-enabled devices will ship in 20172. The Visa Samsung global alliance is a first of its kind between a leading NFC handset manufacturer and payment network that is paving the way for the implementation of large scale mobile payment programs. The initial areas of engagement that the two companies have agreed to include:
Global Strategic Alliance
Visa and Samsung have agreed to work together to enable the next generation of Samsung mobile devices with Visa payment technology, and to partner with financial institutions to accelerate the availability of mobile payment solutions globally.
Samsung to Connect to Visa’s Mobile Provisioning Service
In order to enable financial institutions to launch large scale mobile (NFC) payment programs, Samsung will offer banks the ability to load payment account information over-the-air to a secure chip embedded in Samsung devices, using Visa’s Mobile Provisioning Service3 which is linked to Samsung KMS (Key Management System) – a service that creates secure data storage domains for issuers.
Samsung Awarded Global Visa payWave License
The Visa payWave mobile applet will be preloaded onto selected next-generation Samsung mobile devices featuring NFC technology and an embedded secure element. Off the shelf, these devices are ready to be personalized with Visa payment account information – a simple step that consumers will be able to initiate using a mobile payment application provided by their financial institution.
At Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, February 25-28, Visa will demonstrate Visa payWave for mobile and its Mobile Provisioning Service that can be used by financial institutions to securely load payment account information to NFC-enabled Samsung mobile devices. For more information, visit Visa at Mobile World Congress, Hall 6, Stand 6E40.About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 24,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com.
About Visa Europe
Visa Europe is a payments technology business owned and operated by member banks and other payment service providers from 36 countries across Europe. Visa Europe works at the forefront of technology to create the services and infrastructure which enable millions of European consumers, businesses and governments to make electronic payments. Its members are responsible for issuing cards, signing up retailers and deciding cardholder and retailer fees. As a dedicated European payment system Visa Europe 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, please visit www.visaeurope.com
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 236,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales exceeding KRW 201 trillion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.
1 Visa’s Mobile Provisioning Services are not available in all territories
2 Source: ABI Research, November 21, 2012 http://www.abiresearch.com/press/nfc-will-come-out-of-the-trial-phase-in-2013-as-28
3 Visa’s Mobile Provisioning Services are not available in all territories
I would definitely use this feature. I will always carry my wallet but there are times when it’s just easier to pull out my phone.
As long as it works better than the damn Key Ring app…..
K.R. doesn’t use NFC … yet
I know…that the problem. KR sucks otherwise. I have yet to get it to work properly.
IDGAF how I get NFC payments on my Note II- it just needs to happen. I guess I do sort of GAF, as I refuse to go through some elaborate form of hackery to get a half-baked solution on the phone.
Maybe Samsung and Visa are more serious about this than the carrier cartel is about ISIS; I’m doubting they’re going to get serious with ISIS this decade.
It’s absolutely absurd that, of all the options out there, everyone in control seems to be playing with their collective meat rather than making this happen.
I’d rather have Google Wallet and use any credit card I want. NFC payments are becoming a cluster***k.
That’s the truth. It’s going to be interesting to see how Samsung and Visa make this work. Word has been that ISIS is required to use a secure element SIM because Google won’t release the secure element framework/ API/ whatever for anyone else to use- so what makes Samsung and Visa any different?
Then you have the carrier meddling to contend with…
I’ve got my popcorn ready.
Nothing will hinder adoption better than multiple incompatible implementations.
I’ve tried Google Wallet on a handful of transactions and it works great. However, two things keep me from leaving my wallet at home:
1) Slow adoption rate
2) I don’t want Google to track my purchases
I’m waiting to see what other options are available. I would probably prefer a payment solution offered by my personal bank.
3) you need your driver’s license anyway (or ID)
Actually, the times I used it they didn’t ask for ID. Although my transactions were less than $30.
I think he was talking about you still needing your wallet for your drivers license.
Yes, I know. What I meant with my comment is that most places (at least in the US) does not ask for ID for small purchases, so there would be no need to bring one. I know a lot of places that don’t even require a signature if the purchase is $25 or less.
I think they both mean you need your driver’s license for driving etc.
With a wallet equipped smartphone and wide adoption rate, you can keep your driver’s license in your car.
but still need it when purchasing beer
At this point, who cares if Google tracks your purchases. You think the credit card companies don’t sell that information anyway? Or anyplace you use a “loyalty” card? Unless you use only cash, your purchases are being tracked, and if there’s a way to track cash, they will.
Wait a second… How is Verizon going to allow this?
fail…. what about MasterCard and the other cards?
“ABI Research forecasts that a total of 1.95 billion NFC-enabled devices will ship in 20172.”
Wow, they actually forecast 18000 years into the future?
“and we can probably expect Samsung to load the software onto the Galaxy Note 8.0 that was just announced, as well.”
i thought Galaxy Note 8.0 doesn’t have NFC?
i hope i get this on my Note II. i hope t-mobile to stop blocking GWallet and this for ISIS
Yeah Verizon try and stop this! Like previously mentioned, I will always have my wallet but the phone would be easier to pull out to use on most occasions. You could even take a pic of your license to have in your phone (if the merchant would accept that) for I.D.purposes.
I would definitely use this to make my life easier-that’s what were going for here isn’t it?!
yay. More software you don’t get a choice about having on your phone. AKA if you don’t currently have a Visa, then this software is Bloatware since it’s not an OPTION to DL….It’s installed no matter what. Kinda like the MicroSloth apps that VZW was putting on all of their Android devices.