Tired of carrying two items down to the store? Sometimes hold you wallet to your ear when the phone rings? We've all been there (no we haven't), but now relief is in sight. No, not the expected NFC-equipped iPhone 5, but a dongle for your existing iPhone that ties into Visa's payment network.
The dream of NFC (near filed communication) payments is that they will be as easy as cash, only without the cash. You touch or wave your phone near an in-store terminal or even vending machine and the payment is made. No PINs, no signatures, (and apparently not much security if your phone is stolen).
Visa is partnering with iCarte to bring contact-less payments to Europe. You need the dongle from your bank (iCarte makes models for the iPhones 3G through 4) and grab the Visa app from the App Store. And that's it. Once activated, you can make payments at any supporting store.
The scheme is already underway in Turkey and the UK, and will be spreading across Italy, France, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. Apparently, 57% of iPhone users told Visa that they would use the service. This was above the 41% reported by users of phones in general.
NFC payments aren't new in the rest of the world. The Japanese have been paying for things with their cellphones for years. But the U.S seems to be the perfect place for it. In a land where people use plastic to pay for a single cup of coffee, the convenience of waving a phone at the clerk seems perfect.
Visa begins iPhone 'iWallet' payment tests in Europe [Computerworld]
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