Nokia, Visa Sign for Mobile E-commerce Solutions

 

Visa International and Nokia has signed a cooperation agreement to introduce payment solutions for mobile electronic commerce. Under the agreement, the two companies will introduce a standardized means of making secure payments using a mobile phone, meeting different market requirements for security, risk management and dispute resolution. Both organizations will work on establishing open specifications, based on the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) standard, to enable a mobile phone user to make secure, guaranteed payments over the Internet. The duo will also conduct joint marketing and business development activities. The companies will collaborate to simplify the payment process by developing a mobile e-wallet to allow for “simple-click” purchases. Nokia will provide server applications-based on WAP, which will transmit payment data securely over wireless networks to financial institutions. A pilot of the technology will take place later this year with MeritaNordbanken in Sweden and Finland. The telecom giant has been developing and testing various implementations of secure card payments in the mobile environment, including a pilot of Visa card payments via the dual-chip GSM mobile phone. The mobile phone will contain two plug-in microchips, both the size of a SIM card. One chip—SIM functionality will be used to identity the subscriber to the phone network and allow the phone user to make calls and access the mobile Internet.

 

The second chip will be used to make authenticated Visa credit or debit payments. This second plug-in chip will be issued by the user’s bank, enabling the bank to manage the risk and security of the payment transaction. Visa’s new e-commerce channels group is actively working on establishing strategic alliances with device manufacturers and other key industry leaders to enable and promote e-commerce for mobile phones, interactive TV, and other developing channels.

 

The proliferation of these two companies into Internet indicates that financial institutions can offer access to banking and other interactive financial services, including payment, at any time and from any location.

 

“Mobile phones with wireless Internet capability will be in almost everyone’s pockets, building the basis of a truly mobile information society. Global security brands established by leading payment associations and financial institutions will have a crucial role in paving the way for consumers to adopt mobile commerce which is an important functional part of the mobile information society.”