Visa and Wells Fargo Bring Out the Credit Card Inside Your Cell

Consumer mobile payments and services will be tested in the near future by means of an extensive mobile pilot program from Visa USA. The results will help the company better understand the way in which people use their mobile phones and how that can be matched with payment services.

The mobile pilot will take place in three phases and will include secure, over-the-air delivery of payment account information, account management services, as well as receiving and redeeming mobile coupons. The technology that is meant to help cellular owners benefit from all these features is called Near Field Communication (NFC).

"This important road test of mobile payments and the Visa mobile platform will help us validate the technology and understand how consumers will use these advanced services", said Pam Zuercher, vice president of product innovation at Visa, regarding the pilot period for this new mobile service.

"Our customers expect the flexibility and convenience that mobile payments and services provide. Visa's mobile platform delivers what we need to develop secure, mobile solutions", declared Peter Ho, product manager in Wells Fargo's Card Services division. This comes as a natural evolution of the role that technology has come to play in our everyday activities. "Mobile devices have become an integral part of everyday life, just as electronic payments have", Peter Ho further added.

The first phase of the mobile pilot has already taken place in April, this year, on a group of employees. Results have been good, which will make the launch of the second phase welcomed this summer. Almost 50 Wells Fargo employees will be testing all the enhancements that this type of payment solution brings.

The third phase will take place towards the end of this year. It will be conducted on almost 500 Wells Fargo Visa cardholders and will take into consideration the results of previous phases of the mobile pilot.