Visa Europe Launches Mobile P2P Payment Service and Alerts
Visa Europe has launched Visa Mobile Person-to-Person (P2P) payments and Visa Alerts, two services designed to help consumers manage their money and make payments using their mobile phones.
Announced 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.
“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 near field communication [NFC] technologies, advanced loyalty and e-commerce services, and ultimately, the launch of a new digital wallet,” said Ayliffe.
Visa Mobile P2P payments allow registered users to transfer funds to any Visa cardholder in Europe from their mobile phone. The app allows the user 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.
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.