Visa certifies Samsung, LG, BlackBerry NFC-enabled smartphones for mobile payments

Visa certifies Samsung, LG, BlackBerry NFC-enabled smartphones for mobile payments. Visa Inc and Visa Europe have announced that NFC-enabled smartphones from Samsung, LG, and RIM have been approved for use with Visa payWave, Visa’s mobile application for payments at the point-of-sale. The Samsung Galaxy SII, LG Optimus NET NFC, BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Bold 9790, BlackBerry Curve 9360 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 have been added to the list of Visa compliant payment products available for commercial deployment by financial institutions.

According to the press release, all the new NFC-enabled smartphones certified by Visa host the Visa payWave application on a secure SIM card and feature NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, the short range communications standard that enables mobile phones to securely transmit payment information to a contactless payment terminal.

Visa’s certification of these smartphones paves the way for mobile device manufacturers, mobile operators and retailers to partner with financial institutions to offer Visa mobile payment functionality to consumers globally.

Commenting on the news, Sandra Alzetta (Head of Mobile Business Unit and Innovation, Strategy, at Visa Europe) said: "The players are now in place for mobile payments to become a reality. We are working with our member banks, mobile network operators and key handset partners to ensure that future payment technologies are as easy, intuitive and secure as card-based transactions are today. Today’s announcement plays a significant role in getting those new technologies into the hands of the consumer. It is a very exciting time for us all."