gadjosevilla
- edited
The digital wallet is closer to becoming a reality in Canada. Rogers and CIBC recently announced plans to offer customers the ability to pay with their CIBC credit card at the checkout counter using their Rogers "Near Field Communications" (NFC) enabled smartphones.
The secure and convenient solution will require an NFC-enabled smartphone on the Rogers network that is tied to a CIBC credit or debit account. Instead of using a debit card or credit card's magnetic stripe or chip, the smartphone's NFC chip will enable the transaction securely.
"As the leader in delivering mobile financial services innovations in Canada, we are pleased to introduce yet another innovation in the market that will shape the payments experience of the future," commented David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice President, Retail and Business Banking, CIBC.
"By teaming with Rogers, CIBC clients will soon enjoy the convenience of paying at the checkout with their mobile device while enjoying the existing benefits of their CIBC credit card, including loyalty rewards."
While the service will initially be available to the BlackBerry 9900 smartphone which is one of the first devices to ship with an NFC chip, it is expected to be made available to other NFC enabled devices.
The HTC One X, the Google Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus area alll NFC enabled smartphones.
"Canadians are embracing new technologies at an accelerated pace and we know they're interested in using their smartphone for mobile payments," said Rob Bruce, President of Communications, Rogers Communications.
"Today's announcement with CIBC represents an important first step toward a whole new world of mobile transactions which is a key growth area for the company," he added.
Some of the key features of the new mobile payments solution include:
- Full access to a client's existing CIBC credit cards on their smartphone at no extra cost - whether Visa or MasterCard - this gives clients the opportunity to earn loyalty points on purchases as they do today.
- Multiple layers of security - Paying with your NFC-enabled smartphone will be as secure as using your credit card today. Clients will receive the same fraud protection they do with their contactless credit card, and secure encryption technology will add to the layers of security already in place on credit card purchases. Clients will also have the option to set additional password protection.
- No "stickers" on your phone - this new payment capability will leverage the secure SIM card inside a mobile device for payments, meaning clients can manage their credit card credentials on a secure platform, and won't need to worry about stickers attached to their phone.
Mobile payments will eventually catch on specially with the backing of Rogers and CIBC since their competitors are likely to get in the game as well.
Benefits are faster checkouts in stores, instant updates to points cards and a lighter purse or wallet since the smartphone will replace all the plastic cards.
NFC enabled smartphones will also need to be widely available for this to realy make sense on a nationwide scale and more retailers will need to offer the option.
This is definitely a good start for mobile payments, I hope that it catches on quickly.
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