Visa Europe and MMN will implement a number of m-commerce initiatives in the UK in 2012, taking MMN’s bank-grade, interoperable infrastructure for secure, fast and simple mobile shopping to the mass market.
MMN’s instant mobile checkout, Simply Tap, allows customers to easily identify and purchase a product on their mobile. Simply Tap can be used wherever a shopper sees a product they want - in print, on outdoor advertising, in-store or online – allowing the user to make an easy, secure purchase, with products delivered directly to his or her home address. As part of the new agreement, the app will also offer a number of new offers and savings available only to Visa cardholders.
There are 130m Visa cards in circulation in the UK and £1 in every £3 spent is now carried out on a Visa card, around 80% of which is on a debit card.
Peter Ayliffe, Chief Executive of Visa Europe said: “This agreement is another step in the delivery of our mobile payments strategy. We are working with partners and organisations across the mobile ecosystem to make the future of payments a reality for consumers, for retailers and for financial institutions. By 2020, we predict that more than half of all our transactions will be carried out on a mobile device. Our investment in the Mobile Money Network will support our aim to deliver a wide range of secure and reliable mobile payment services that help our members tap into the potential of m-commerce.”
As part of the agreement Visa Europe will also take a seat on the MMN board.
Launched in November 2011, MMN and its Simply Tap service is chaired by Sir Stuart Rose as Non-Executive Chairman with backers including Carphone Warehouse, Charles Dunstone and Monitise. MMN is working with a large number of retailers and has already launched services with HMV, Goldsmiths and Thorntons and been first to market with cutting-edge technology including image recognition and transactional QR codes.
Sir Stuart Rose said: “Visa is the benchmark for trusted payments innovation on a global scale and this deal is a clear endorsement of MMN’s ability to provide a secure, innovative and trusted solution. Together, Visa Europe and MMN will enable retailers to offer their customers a simple, unified instant mobile checkout that can be used to accelerate revenues and conversion through all their sales channels. The future of retail is mobile.”