Smartcard marketing

Mobile phone payment system trialled in Australia
http://www.smartcompany.com.au/Free-Articles/Trends/20080828-Mobile-phone-payment-system-trialled-in-Australia.html?source=cmailer
Thursday, 28 August 2008: A payment system in which consumers just have to swipe their mobile phones over special readers is being trialled at Melbourne’s Docklands, Inside Retail reports.

Telstra, NAB and Visa are testing the “contactless mobile payments” system with 12 vendors and 200 selected consumers in the Docklands precinct.

For the consumers, it simply involves downloading a credit card software application to their mobile phone SIM card. They then simply have to pass their phone over a merchant’s reader installed in the stores to pay for goods on their credit card.

The idea is that contactless payment could become a quick and easy way of making quick purchases like a coffee or sandwhich, without having to fiddle with change or sign a paper slip.
Visa general manager Chris Clark told Inside Retail that payments made using the mobile system are two to three times faster than the average cash transaction.

“As the technology evolves, we expect it will be possible for consumers to use their mobile phones to download electronic coupons tailored to their interests, monitor their accounts, make mobile internet payments and access other applications that provide a compelling customer experience.”

High-Tech Cards Stymied by Low Trust
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006437&src=article2_newsltr
Extracts: London's Oyster card, Seoul's Upass and the SmartRider card in Perth, Australia are all examples of contactless smartcards using NFC With readers incorporated in mobile phones, posters and billboards with NFC chips can beam personalized product information and offers to users as they pass.

Marketing pitches may be stored on handsets and viewed later, rather than just on a passing billboard or gas pump display. By 2013, payments made using near-field communications (NFC) will reach $75 billion worldwide, according to a new Juniper Research report, "Mobile Payments Markets Contactless NFC 2008-2013."

Berg Insight believes that contactless cards are an expanding market, but one that will take time to catch on. The research firm anticipates a 43.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for NFC-enabled mobile phone shipments between 2007 and 2012.

Currently, mobile ticketing is one the most common applications for contactless technology. Juniper Research reported 37 million transactions last year and anticipates a massive 1.8 billion by 2011.

Ease of transport might not be a hard sell, but consumers in many countries have been slow to embrace waving and paying for goods. According to a recent Auriemma Consulting Group survey, only 3% of UK credit card users were aware of contactless technology and nearly one-quarter (23%) would refuse to use a contactless credit card due to fears of identity theft.

"Evidence is quite clear that the consumer is not familiar enough with contactless cards in order to make a decision to own one of these cards," said Matt Simester, director of Auriemma Consulting, in a statement.

ANZ/Visa card loses contact
http://www.east.com.au/bankingnews.asp?id=2420
(23 July 2008 – Australia) ANZ and Visa have launched the first reloadable, prepaid contactless card in Australia.The card uses new technology developed to take away the need for signature or pin verification on low value transactions.

The ANZ Visa card allows customers to make payments for transactions under the value of $35 without the need for a PIN or signature, by holding their card within five centimetres of a contactless reader.

The new ANZ Stadium Visa payWave card is so named because of its launch at the first Bledisloe Cup rugby union match of 2008 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. Credit of $25 will be provided for 2000 cards at the launch to pay for food and beverages.

Visa’s general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Chris Clark said that the new card is designed to improve the customer experience at major events by reducing transaction times.Clark also said that an average transaction with the new card can be completed in four to six seconds, less than half the time of a cash transaction which averages 12 to 14 seconds.

The new technology is part of Visa’s long term strategy in Australia.The cards carry an antenna and computer chip embedded in the card which securely transmits payment instructions to and from a specially adapted card terminal. The cardholder keeps control of the card throughout the transaction to reduce the risk of fraud.

The card can be reloaded with funds using BPAY via internet or phone banking and has a magnetic stripe so it can be used as a Visa prepaid card for merchant outlets outside of ANZ Stadium.