HEADLINE NEWS
Austria: Bank Plans Launch of payWave on microSDs and iPhone Sleeves
Raiffeisen Bank International is putting a Visa debit application onto microSD cards that customers will be able to insert into contactless iPhone sleeves. The application will act like a prepaid card, and users will be able to tap where Visa payWave is accepted. But they will find few terminals in Austria when the project is launched. With the sleeves for the iPhone 4 and 4s, along with the microSD cards and the CardMobile app, Raiffeisen customers will be able to make payments of €20 (US$26.43) without entering a pass code. They could make higher-value payments with their pass codes by entering them on the iPhone keypad, and tapping the phone again. For purchases below €20, if the mobile-wallet balance in the microSD chip is insufficient to pay for the purchase, customers will be prompted to enter their pass codes to load €50 from their bank accounts to the wallet and then to hold the phone to the payment terminal again to complete the load and the purchase in one transaction.
Raiffeisen Bank International told NFC Times it wants to launch contactless-mobile payment independently of mobile operators, so is launching the project with microSDs and iPhone sleeves. It also doesn’t want to wait for the rollout of more NFC phones. The bank says it will launch microSD-based application on other smartphones, as well. But with no contactless terminals accepting Visa payWave at present and reluctance by consumers to alter the shape and appearance of their iPhones with an attachment, the bank faces an uphill climb to gain acceptance for its planned mobile-payment service.
* Trusted Service Manager: Defined loosely to include companies or other organizations securely distributing, provisioning and managing applications, generally over the air, on secure elements in NFC mobile phones; or licensing their platforms for this purpose.
N/A: Not available or not applicable.
Last update: Feb. 2012
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedInSyndicate
