Samsung and Visa have announced an alliance aimed at accelerating global adoption of NFC mobile payments.
Under the collaboration, announced at Mobile World Congress 2013, Samsung has agreed to pre-load Visa's NFC payment applet on its future NFC-enabled handsets.
Financial institutions will be able to use Visa's Mobile Provisioning Service to push payment account information to these devices, to enable mobile payments through the app.
The two companies have also agreed to pursue partnership deals with financial institutions to encourage NFC payment adoption and development.
Samsung's Media Solution Center president Dr Won-Pyo Hong said the partnership “represents a step towards a global mobile payment platform.”
Ovum consumer analyst Eden Zoller said the agreement is potentially significant, given the two companies' stature.
“[The deal] could give NFC a much-needed boost, given that Visa is a trusted payment brand, while Samsung is the top smartphone manufacturer in terms of shipments and a driving force behind the increasingly popular Android device platform.”
She said their combined marketing muscle could help make consumers aware of the benefits of NFC. “This is desperately needed as for most consumers, mobile payments – let alone NFC – is simply not on their radar.”
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