MasterCard and ANZ, an Australian-based financial services company offering in-depth online banking, have launched a new initiative in New Zealand to test the waters of so called mobile payments. NFC technology is making its way to New Zealand for the first time in the form of a sticker or memory card called “PayPass.”
The technology exists in two forms to expand its use amongst owners of mobile devices. The sticker will be used for older phone while the memory card will be used for smart phones, such as Blackberry.
A small trial group has been selected to participate in the initial stages of the trial. They will be able to make purchases of up to $80 using their phones. Several retailers have been given MasterCard PayPass terminals to help facilitate the trial. There are plans to incorporate major merchant locations next month, as the trial group is expected to grow in size.
NFC technology has been getting a significant amount of attention lately for its potential use with contactless payments. The interest in NFC is largely spurred by Google’s plans to leverage the technology with their new mobile wallet project. Google’s plans have led many to wonder at what the future will hold for payments as technology continued to integrate into everyday life.
As more companies continue to venture into this field, there have been concerns over the security of financial data stored on mobile devices. New methods of payment are often synonymous with new forms of exploitation. While these fears are credible, few of the companies investing in contactless payment platforms have considered security to be an issue.
