SAN FRANCISCO-Nokia and Visa International signed a global agreement to cooperate on the development of payment solutions for mobile electronic commerce.
The deal calls for the companies to develop ways in which financial institutions and mobile phone operators can offer secure payment services to their customers via a mobile phone. Nokia and Visa will introduce a standardized means of making secure payments and meeting different market requirements for security, risk management and dispute resolution.
According to Nokia, the company is developing and testing a pilot of Visa card payments via a dual-chip Global System for Mobile communications mobile phone containing two plug-in microchips, both the size of a Subscriber Identity Module card.
One chip-with SIM functionality- will be used to identify 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 and debit payments and will be issued by the user’s bank, enabling the bank to manage the risk and security of the payment transaction.
“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,” commented Yrjo Neuvo, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Nokia.
The agreement also involves collaboration to simplify the payment process by developing a mobile e-wallet allowing for “simple-click” purchases. Nokia will provide Wireless Application Protocol-based server applications, which will transmit payment data securely over wireless networks to financial institutions.
According to Nokia, a pilot of the technology will take place later this year with MeritaNordbank in Sweden and Finland.
