Like PayPass, soon Samsung users will be able to pay for stuff by tapping their phone onto terminals after the electronics giant teamed up with Commonwealth Bank and Mastercard.
Commonwealth Bank is the first bank to offer customers tap-to-pay capability using MasterCard's PayPass technology via mobile.
The function will be embedded into Samsung Galaxy S4 devices with the new Commonwealth bank app that launched this week. Customers can pay for items by tapping their smartphone on the MasterCard PayPass near field communications (NFC) card reader in stores, without having to open the app.
Australia is the first country to get this kind of NFC function, but there are planned roll outs in to countries including Russia and Turkey.
The brands say the development “delivers a next-generation shopping experience and simplifies the ways customers pay for everyday goods and services”.
Angus Sullivan, executive general manager of cards, payments, analytics and retail strategy at Commonwealth Bank, said: “Mobile wallets are poised to become a reality with the introduction of Tap & Pay, as customers embrace having greater control and access to their finances. Today marks the next step in the introduction of a mobile wallet into our everyday lives, simplifying the convenience of payments from our phones and laying the foundations for future innovations.”
Australia is ahead of many other countries in terms of contactless uptake. There are 220,000 PayPass contactless pay points in Australia and more than 30% of payments in are already made by contactless technology.
The technology has been adopted by brands as part of outdoor advertising and in-store initiatives but as a payment technology, it is still thought by many that the growth of digital wallets will be held back by Apple not including NFC technology in its handsets.
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