Australians have a strong appetite for contactless mobile phone payments, according to the results of a four-week trial ANZ and Visa released today, with almost 90 percent of participants saying the trial either met or exceeded their expectations. 
 
More than 90 percent of participants in the trial said they liked the ability to make purchases using their mobile phone because of the convenience of not having to carry a wallet, and all participants said they felt safe when making contactless transactions using their handsets.
 
Visa’s Country Manager Australia, Vipin Kalra, said the results of the trial painted a very positive picture for the future of mobile payments in Australia.
 
“Participants in the trial clearly found mobile payments using Visa payWave to be a convenient and easy replacement for cash, ideal for fast, simple transactions,” he said.
 
Fifty staff from the Sydney and Melbourne offices of Visa and ANZ were given a special protective iPhone case with a secure MicroSD memory card that allowed them to turn their phone into contactless payment device using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
 
Participants in the trial were able to make payments by simply waving their phone in front of a contactless reader. For purchases under $100 no PIN or signature is required.
 
ANZ Head of Product Management Consumer Cards & Unsecured Lending Sam Qubrosi said: “We’ve learnt a great deal from the participants about how customers use NFC and the pilot confirmed there is strong customer demand for this type of technology. One thing is now clear and that is that NFC is here to stay and we’re exploring options on how to move forward.”
 
Ninety percent of participants in the trial foresee a fast uptake in using handsets for contactless payments when the functionality becomes widely available. Cafes and fast food outlets were the stores where participants most commonly made mobile payment purchases.
 
Close to 80 percent of the participants said they would consider getting a Visa payWave enabled MicroSD if it was commercially available. However, there are a number of ways to implement mobile payments including with handsets that have NFC technology built-in.
 
“Visa’s mobile payment application is technology agnostic and enables financial institutions to commercialise mobile payments using a variety of mobile chip technologies including MicroSD or fully embedded NFC technology,” added Mr Kalra.
 
The technology is compatible with existing contactless payment terminals already installed at thousands of retail outlets across Australia, including fast food restaurants, electronic stores, book stores, sporting stadiums, clothing stores and vending machines.
 
 
Media Contacts:
 
Stephen Ries
ANZ Media Relations
Email: Stephen.Ries@anz.com
 
Andrew Craig
Visa Corporate Relations
Email: ausinfo@visa.com