Near Field Communications World » Telus

EnStream begins Zoompass mobile payments sticker trial

Sarah Clark — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:36:45 +0000

EnStream, the joint venture between Canada's three leading mobile operators which operates the Zoompass mobile wallet service, has begun its first mobile contactless sticker trial.

Launched by Bell Mobility, Rogers and Telus in June 2009, customers can currently load funds into their Zoompass account via their bank account or credit card and then use their phone to send and receive money, including between friends and family, check their balance and review their transaction history.

Zoompass customers can also apply for a Zoompass Prepaid MasterCard, issued by Peoples Trust. This lets them make purchases at any MasterCard-accepting merchant and have the cost of the transaction automatically debited from their Zoompass account.

The new Zoompass Tags are contactless sticker versions of the existing prepaid cards, enabling consumers to make payments with their Zoompass account at the point-of-sale by simply touching their phone to the contactless reader.

“All Zoompass users will soon be able to pay for their morning coffee, gas at the pump, and lunch at a fast-food restaurant with a quick tap of their mobile phone,” says Robin Dua, President of EnStream. “Every transaction is logged in the Zoompass application and can be instantly seen on the mobile phone. This is very handy to track purchases and budgets in real-time.”

For the trial, EnStream is using the Convego Air Mobile stickers launched in November 2009 by Giesecke & Devrient.

"Our Convego Air Mobile sticker is the only sticker of its kind with a flexible body and a unique shuttle distribution method," says Kim Madore, VP Emerging Technology and Market Development for Giesecke & Devrient. "It is the only sticker being trialed by the leading Canadian wireless carriers for use on their mobile phones.”

The trial is expected to last for three months and, longer term, is expected to lead to a widescale deployment of NFC-enabled Zoompass services. Last month, EnStream told NFC World that it is already seeing "strong usage of the Zoompass Prepaid MasterCard at retail stores where Zoompass users are able to purchase services using money in their Zoompass account." The company is, however, reluctant to confirm the likely timing of a commercial launch.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Visa appoints senior GSMA executive to head its move to mobile

Sarah Clark — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:01:22 +0000

Visa Inc has appointed Bill Gajda as its new head of mobile. Gajda will join Visa from the GSMA, where he is currently the mobile association's chief commercial officer, responsible for strategic initiatives including mobile money, mobile money transfer, mobile advertising, strategic partnerships, mobile innovation and business development. Gajda is also president of the GSM Foundation, a position he will continue to maintain as head of mobile at Visa.

"Gajda's position at Visa is designed to further advance Visa's mobile strategy, working in collaboration with the wireless and financial services industries to bring mobile payments and related services to consumers around the globe," says the official announcement.

"Visa has made great strides in forming strategic alliances and working in collaboration with the wireless industry to bring mobile financial services to consumers in both mature and emerging markets," says Elizabeth Buse, global head of product at Visa Inc. "Bill's experience in working with mobile network operators, handset manufacturers and other leaders in wireless, combined with his track record in helping to develop successful business models, will be a significant asset as Visa's aims to commercialize mobile financial services around the globe."

Prior to joining the GSMA, Gajda was head of marketing at Ericsson, and also held key positions at Bell Canada International and Telus.

Last week, Visa teamed up with the GSMA for an NFC trial at the Mobile World Congress. The payments network also announced last week that it is to run a number of field trials using DeviceFidelity's microSD-based NFC solution.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Canadian mobile operators ‘plan to introduce NFC or contactless handsets within the year’

Sarah Clark — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:13:07 +0000

EnStream, the joint venture between Canada's three leading mobile operators which operates the Zoompass mobile wallet service, aims to offer NFC or contactless enabled handsets to customers within the year, the company has told NFC World.

EnStream added support for Android devices to Zoompass this week and, the company told NFC World, "Zoompass registrations are rising month over month especially among smartphone users due to the integrated, rich and intuitive user experience offered by the Zoompass application."

"Secondly the product is naturally gaining traction among registrants who are sending and requesting money from friends and family members, resulting in an enlargement of Zoompass' universe of users," Enstream continues. "We are also seeing strong usage of the Zoompass Prepaid MasterCard at retail stores where Zoompass users are able to purchase services using money in their Zoompass account."

"The ultimate goal is to allow Zoompass users to transact with their mobile phone at point of sale with NFC enabled handsets or contactless enabled handsets – we’re looking at providing this to Zoompass users within the year."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Canadian operators zoom past NFC

Sarah Clark — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:57:20 +0000

Zoompass, a joint venture between Canada's three leading mobile operators, is taking a new approach to the lack of NFC handsets by linking its new mobile wallet to a standard prepaid bank card.

STAKING A CLAIM: The payments system is the result of a joint venture between Canada's three leading MNOs

Bell Mobility, Rogers and Telus, Canada's three leading mobile operators, have launched Zoompass, a mobile wallet service that has taken a new approach to the problem of enabling consumers to use their mobile phone to pay for retail goods and services.

Customers download the Zoompass to their mobile phone, load funds into their account via their bank account or credit card and can then use the phone to send and receive money, including between friends and family, check their balance and review their transaction history.

"Zoompass makes it easy to split a lunch bill, request money from parents, collect sports team fees, solicit money for a co-worker's gift, or even pay a babysitter — right from a mobile phone," says the official announcement.

To complete the circle, Zoompass customers can also apply for a Zoompass Prepaid MasterCard, issued by Peoples Trust. This lets them make purchases at any MasterCard-accepting merchant and have the cost of the transaction automatically debited from their Zoompass account.

It's clear, too, that the operators see this initial launch of Zoompass as only stage one in the development of a full mobile commerce ecosystem.

"The launch of Zoompass represents an important milestone towards developing a mobile commerce ecosystem in Canada that provides users a convenient mode of doing everyday transactions with their phone," says Robin Dua, president of EnStream, the joint venture company set up by the three operators to manage the Zoompass system.

"Think of it as a mobile wallet, with this as the cash part," David Robinson, vice-president of new business planning for Rogers, has told the Toronto Star. "Credit cards come next. Then loyalty programs, keys and (personal) identification. This is the beginning of mobile commerce."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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