Samsung, Visa to showcase NFC payments with London 2012 athletes
10 May, 2012
category: NFC
Samsung and Visa are providing their sponsored athletes and trialists at the London 2012 Olympic Games with special edition Samsung Galaxy S III handsets equipped with Visa’s payWave NFC payments application.
According to Visa, the Olympic handsets will enable athletes to make contactless mobile payments at thousands of retailers around London with just a tap of their Galaxy S III.
“From the moment visitors land at Heathrow, they will be immersed in a contactless payment experience with everything from taxis, to retail outlets, to the Olympic Park itself,” said Visa in a release.
Visa’s payWave application allows users to make mobile contactless payments by simply selecting the Visa icon on their mobile device and holding it to a contactless payment terminal. Payments over £20 require the user to enter a PIN. Users can also check their transaction history and view their account balance directly from their mobile phone.
“This summer we will be demonstrating the future of payments in London – a future where most consumers will rely on mobile devices, tablets and PCs to manage their daily financial lives,” explained Bill Gajda, Global Head of Mobile Products at Visa. “Our relationship with Samsung gets us closer to that vision, with a stunning new device that is sure to turn heads at the London 2012 Games.”
Mobile payments at the Olympics will be supported and enabled by London 2012 Games partner Lloyds TSB.