VISA Archives - Page 13 of 13

Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994

Mobile Payments: Japan Leads the Pack

By Jim Bruene Posted on January 27, 2006
Categories: American Express, Card Acquiring, Card Issuing, Debit Cards, Discover Card, DoCoMo, FeliCa Card, Market Platform Dynamics, MasterCard, Mobile Payments, Octopus Card, Payment Cards, Stored Value Cards, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, VISA

The potential of cellphone-based mobile payments to eventually squeeze banks out of their central role in payments can already be seen in East Asia, says Andrei Hagiu, a principal at Market Platform Dynamics, and by ignoring it, American banks have nothing to lose but their business.

Hong Kong’s Octopus prepaid debit card (see inset) is one example: Issued by Hong Kong’s subway system and several other transportation companies—with no bank involved—Octopus cards drive about $2.2 billion in annual payments volume.

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Low Value Payments & Stored Value Cards

By Jim Bruene Posted on January 13, 2006
Categories: Credit/Debit Cards, MasterCard, Stored Value Cards, VISA

In the coming year, low-value payments and prepaid cards will be increasingly mentioned in the same breath, especially in conjunction with off-line, contactless methods, says Gwenn Bezard, partner in Aite Group.

Pilots, and even some deployments of contactless payment cards, will be making a significant appearance, if only because banks are pushing them. The main sticking point from the merchant perspective, Bezard says, will be the cost of interchange, but he expects some banks to offer breaks on fees, if only to give the venue a running start. He is optimistic that big merchants will follow Starbucks’ model and offer rechargeable, merchant-specific stored-value cards as a means of gaining market share and promoting customer loyalty.

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