Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Mar. 30, 2007

During a CTIA keynote address, Visa International CEO John Philip Coghlan said he sees mobile phones as the best way to currently expand electronic payments.

Though wireless transactions are extremely common in Japan, where shoppers can pay with a wave of the mobile phone, that market is only beginning in the United States.

Coghlan added "I think the cell phone is simply the most promising new form of payment system available today."

Underlying a recent Visa study of eight-hundred users, he said that about 57 percent of respondents were interested in using mobile phones for purchases.

Surprisingly, another 64 percent said they would consider leaving a wireless service provider that did not offer mobile payments.

Visa International also announced that it has become an investor in Internet venture firm DotMobi, which is promoting the use of the Web suffix .mobi for mobile browsing of the Internet.

Coghlan also said Visa was working with wireless chip developer Qualcomm to bring mobile phone transaction technologies to market.

Additionally, handset manufacturer Kyocera Wireless also signed on to the Visa mobile payments platform.

Meanwhile, a provider of real-time eCommerce and communications software for mobile phones, Ecrio, has announced Visa has become a strategic investor in its technology, citing that the funding will help it expand its offerings in the area of mobile eCommerce.

Ecrio currently is working on patented technology for beaming barcodes from mobile handsets to laser POS (point-of-sale) terminals.

Ecrio's CEO Nagesh Challa said "overall, the Visa investment adds another important name to our list of customers and investors, in this case, one of the world's most respected and well-known brand name."

Challa added "we appreciate the vote of confidence, and we simply can't think of no better partner as we make mobile commerce a global reality."

Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Source: Wireless Week