NFC smartphones by Samsung, RIM and LG get Visa certification

NFC SMARTPHONES made by Samsung, RIM and LG have been certified for use with Visa's mobile application for payments at point of sale, called Visa Paywave.

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.

All the devices certified by Visa host the Visa Paywave application on a secure Sim card and feature near field communications (NFC) technology that allows users to pay for goods at a 'wave and pay' terminal.

Visa Europe head of mobile business unit and innovation Sandra Alzetta 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."

She added, "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."

Nick Holland, a senior analyst at Yankee Group, said, "Today's announcement is another example of the momentum we are seeing behind NFC as an industry standard for mobile payments. Yankee Group predicts that the value of NFC-based transactions will grow significantly, from $27m in 2010 to $40bn in 2014."

NFC has so far failed to take off due to a lack of enabled devices in the UK and worries about security. However, experts say that 2012 will be the year that the technology will move into the mainstream, fuelled by the London 2012 Olympics. µ