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Samsung, Visa Go to the Olympics with Payment App

February 24, 2012

(OLYMPICS TECHNOLOGY)

Despite all the talk of data caps at this year’s London Olympic Games, there is actually some positive tech news coming out of the biennial global spectacle.

Of note is the partnership of Samsung (News - Alert) and Visa who, as the buzz is going, have teamed up to provide a payment app using near field communication (NFC) technology.


Based on Visa’s payWave technology, the application enables consumers to make payments through the phone in front of a contactless reader at the point of purchase, while purchase above GBP15 will require a pass code.

Supported by multi-layered security and reliability of Visa’s processing platform, the application allows customers to check transaction history and view up to date account balance, said Visa.

“London 2012 is a unique opportunity to show the future of payments coming to life and leave a lasting legacy post-2012. The new mobile payment application is central to this showcase,” said Sandra Alzetta, head of Innovation at Visa Europe. “We are also working with a number of partners to put live mobile payment technology into consumer hands. We’ve recently announced the certification of a number of major manufacturer handsets for NFC payments, which brings mainstream commercial mobile payments a step closer to reality.”

The new mobile payment services for the London 2012 Olympic Games provides easy and safe payment through mobile devices, said DJ Lee, Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business sales and marketing team executive vice president and head.

Visa will install more than 3,000 contactless terminals across London Olympic and Paralympic venues showcasing prepaid, contactless payments and mobile technologies.

The 2012 games might see that the Internet in London is significantly slowed down due to the influx of tourists and spectators for the games.

In a document written for businesses called ‘Preparing your business for the games’, the Cabinet Office has said Internet services could be slower during the sporting festivities.

“In very severe cases there may be drop outs due to an increased number of people accessing the Internet.”

Internet service providers (ISPs) could introduce data caps at peak times to try and keep things under control as millions flood into the nation’s capital and as locals tweet about the Jubilee line being too crowded, the document also states.





Edited by Jennifer Russell