Following the deployment of digital wallets across the spectrum from traditional payment providers such as American Express and MasterCard, and newcomers like Google, Visa has decided to enter the fray and has announced that its digital wallet has successfully exited the beta stage.
Visa’s official entrance into the market could shake up things with over 50 participating financial institutions, including PNC and U.S. Bank, and 23 retailers, including 1-800-Flowers, PacSun, Shoebuy.com, Buy.com, and MovieTickets.com.
From TechCrunch:
“Right now we’re in the proliferation stage. Over time, you will see a consolidation. And where will that consolidation end up? It will end up with trusted brands. It will end up with consumer-centric value propositions…And it will be about acceptance and scale,” says Jennifer Schulz, Visa’s global head of eCommerce.
The V.me wallet is built on an open platform, meaning that the wallet can support Visa cards as well as a number of its rivals and is designed for both online and mobile transactions. Furthermore, the mobile applications of the V.me enable holders to take advantage of NFC and barcode scanning, which is popular in Europe but has yet to make a big splash in the United States.
The arrival of the Visa’s wallet is just the beginning. It plans to roll out more cross platform applications in 2013, providing consumers with additional payment options. While companies like Visa and others are investing heavily in digital wallets, mainstream consumers have been more hesitant to adopt this new payment technology. Whether this trend changes over time will go a long way in determining the success of digital wallets.
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