Rogers Wireless Joins RBC and Visa in Mobile Phone Payment Pilot
Wave your mobile phone for the ultimate freedom to purchase
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Oct 30, 2008–RBC Royal Bank of Canada, Visa and Rogers Wireless have come together for the next phase of the mobile phone payment pilot, which will ultimately allow Canadians the flexibility to make purchases securely at the point of sale with a wave of their mobile phone. The customer phase of the mobile phone payment pilot is expected to launch in mid-2009, following a brief employee pilot.
Designed to be a fast and convenient way for customers to pay for small purchases, pilot participants will be issued specially-equipped mobile phones that can simply be waved at Visa payWave-enabled checkout readers at select retail stores and quick-service restaurants in Toronto’s downtown core.
“As Canada’s largest wireless provider, Rogers Wireless is continually seeking ways to provide our customers with new and innovative services that will add value to their lives,” said David Robinson, Vice-President, New Business Planning, Rogers Wireless. “This pilot is the first step to making our customers’ mobile phones as indispensable as their wallets and we are excited to be working with Visa and RBC on this new wireless payment service.”
As part of the pilot, Motorola mobile phones outfitted with Near Field Communication (NFC) contactless chips will enable customers to make purchases using the Visa payWave feature just as they would with a contactless RBC Visa card. The functions tested in the pilot will include the secure delivery and storage of account information to the mobile phone and the security of mobile payments at retailers.
The pilot will be the first in Canada to test secure over-the-air (OTA) delivery of mobile payment software and credit card information to a customer’s mobile phone. Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, is providing this capability by acting as the Trusted Service Manager and securely bridging banking with mobile phones. Gemalto, who currently produce RBC Visa chip cards, will manage the transfer of credit card information from RBC to the secure SIM card in the Rogers Wireless NFC-enabled mobile phone, using the same high level of security and encryption used to issue RBC Visa chip cards.
“We’re delighted to have Rogers Wireless on board to move our payment pilot with Visa forward,” said Anne Koski, head, Payments Innovation, RBC Global Cards. “Our clients will definitely appreciate the convenience of making purchases using their mobile phones and we look forward to their feedback on this pilot.”
RBC was the first Canadian financial institution to offer a credit card with chip technology nationwide and was the first to announce its intentions to offer the Visa payWave feature on its cards. Mobile payments are yet another extension of RBC’s commitment to offer clients convenient and secure payment options.
Supported by Visa’s mobile payment platform, pilot activities will allow RBC, Rogers and Visa to better understand customer behaviours and their perceptions of the payment experience before the service is provided to consumers.
“Visa aims to be the best way to pay and our approach to innovation reflects this goal,” said Mike Bradley, Head of Products, Visa Canada. “Allowing consumers to use their mobile phones to pay with Visa is an innovative new service, and also adds value to retailers, financial institutions and mobile operators.”
About Visa
Visa operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys
acceptance around the world and Visa/PLUS is one of the world’s largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit http://www.corporate.visa.com.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (CA:RY) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name of RBC. We are Canada’s largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. We provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking, and transaction processing services on a global basis. We employ approximately 75,000 full and part-time employees who serve more than 17 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 46 other countries. For more information, please visit http://www.rbc.com.
About Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless provides wireless voice and data communications services across Canada to more than 7.7 million customers under both the Rogers Wireless and Fido brands. Proven to operate Canada’s most reliable wireless voice and data communications network, Rogers Wireless is Canada’s largest wireless provider and the only national carrier operating on the global standard GSM and highly advanced HSPA technology platforms. In addition to providing seamless roaming in more than 200 countries/areas with its GSM based services, Rogers Wireless also provides wireless broadband services across Canada utilizing its 2.5GHz fixed wireless spectrum. Rogers Wireless is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI)(NYSE: RCI), a diversified Canadian communications and media company. For further information, please visit: http://www.rogers.com.
Contacts
Visa
Teri Broughton
(416) 860-8869
Email: tbrought@visa.com
Website: http://www.corporate.visa.com
RBC
Jackie Braden
RBC Media Relations
(416) 974-2124
Email: jackie.braden@rbc.com
Website: http://www.rbc.com
Rogers Wireless
Odette Coleman
(416) 935-6441
Email: odette.coleman@rci.rogers.com
Website: http://www.rogers.com
SOURCE: Visa Canada and RBC and Rogers Communications Inc.