Nokia And Visa To Offer Simple “Click-To-Pay”

NOKIA AND VISA TO OFFER SIMPLE “CLICK-TO-PAY” SOLUTIONS
FOR MOBILE COMMERCE

Industry-leading alliance to offer trials of new technology applications
enabling secure mobile-commerce transactions

Singapore, February 6, 2001 – In a move to meet the expected volume of mobile commerce (m-commerce) transactions in Asia Pacific, Nokia and Visa International have teamed up to provide a Visa-branded payment service which enables consumers to make purchases by a simple click on an Internet-enabled mobile phone. The service will use Nokia’s high-quality network and platform solutions, and will be made available to Visa cardholders throughout Asia Pacific.

This initiative joins two industry leaders and becomes the first Pan-Asian alliance to trial new technology applications to enable secure m-commerce transactions. It leverages Nokia's expertise in new technology applications for m-commerce and Visa’s global electronic commerce initiatives for security and authentication. The first pilot program will be launched in Australia and thereafter is expected to be commercially rolled out in other Asia Pacific markets.

Besides collaborating on joint marketing and business development activities in Asia Pacific, Nokia and Visa will offer simplified payment solutions, enabling customers who use existing wireless application protocol (WAP)-enabled mobile phones to make purchases over the Internet with “simple clicks”. The Nokia-Visa solution will provide server-based applications based on WAP and will transmit payment data securely over existing wireless networks to financial institutions. Consumers using any WAP-enabled mobile phones can purchase books, CDs, toys or movies; bid in auctions and pay with the Visa card of their choice. Customers who want to use the service can register by logging in to the web site, www.shopwithvisa.com. This solution for making secure payments using mobile phones will meet the growing market requirements for security, authentication, trust and convenience.

The growth in mobile phone usage over the last few years shows a clear trend toward wireless Internet devices. Nokia estimates there will be more than one billion mobile phone subscribers in the first half of 2002. IDC, a market research company headquartered in the US, estimates that by 2003 the volume of Asian e-commerce will reach US$32 billion. A significant part of the estimated 200 million subscribers in Asia will access the Internet using wireless-enabled devices, contributing to the emergence of a significant market for mobile commerce. Together with technological developments leading to new payment methods and greater security, wireless devices will help drive the growth of mobile e-commerce.

“Nokia is well positioned to take a leading, brand-recognized role in creating the Mobile Information Society, by combining mobility and the Internet and stimulating the creation of new services that will not only allow one to access information, but also permit customers to transact purchases without location limitation,” said Mr. Jyrki Halttunen, Vice President of Mobile Internet Applications, Nokia Networks, Asia Pacific.

“In this fast-growing m-business, our latest initiative with Visa clearly underscores our commitment to making the mobile society a reality where the mobile e-commerce will be a vital component,” he added.

Mark Burbidge, Senior Vice President and General Manager, e-Visa Asia Pacific added, “Visa's partnership with Nokia to bring leading-edge payment solutions to cardholders, represents yet-another affirmation of our leadership role and brand strength. Visa leads the payments industry in developing financial solutions to promote m-commerce. Visa member banks can now offer cardholders the ability to use mobile phones, or other hand-held mobile devices to securely purchase products and services over the Internet.”

Nokia’s industry-leading mobile Internet platforms can be combined with payment solutions to provide an “end-to-end” shopping experience. For the Nokia-Visa alliance, the team has created a technical architecture and transaction flow that would enable any future Internet portal to be mobile-enabled and accept Visa card payments for goods and services available on the portal.

About Nokia

Nokia is “Connecting People” to the mobile information society. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet, Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on six major exchanges. For more information, visit www.Nokia.com.

About Visa International

Record growth in Visa card numbers and card sales volume for the 12 months ending June 2000 reflects the continued tendency in Asia Pacific to replace existing cash and check payments with the use of payment cards. Total volume reached US$247.9 billion, comprising US$206.3 billion in purchase volume and cash transactions (a 40-percent growth over the corresponding 12-month period), plus a further US$41.6 billion of commercial activity using Visa cards in China, as reported by Chinese member banks. The number of Visa-branded cards in the region grew to a record 127.7 million, up 5 percent over the corresponding 12-month period. The number of transactions carried out on Visa cards in the region reached 1.9 billion – an increase of 30 percent over the same 12-month period. This translates into more than 60 Visa transactions every second in Asia Pacific.

As “the world’s best way to pay”, Visa is the world’s leading payment brand and the largest payment system worldwide with more volume than all other major payment cards combined. Visa plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa has more than 80 smart card programs in 35 countries and on the Internet, with 23 million Visa chip cards, including 8 million Visa cash cards. Visa is pioneering SET Secure Electronic Transaction ™ programs to enable and advance Internet commerce. There are more than 1 billion Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Cash, Interlink and Plus cards in the market. Visa-branded cards generate US$1.6 trillion in annual volume and are accepted at more than 19 million worldwide locations, including more than 627,000 ATMs in the Visa global ATM network.

ENDS

© Scoop Media