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News
Issue #2002 - 21
(June 2002)
(Updated June 5, 2002)
TECHNOLOGY
First Wireless Payment System
Launched Using EMV and Infrared
Following the success of a
six-week pilot program for a wireless payment system, which included
the participation of twenty retailers, Visa International and SK
Telecom (SKT) have decided to press ahead with full-deployment of
the system to include more than 30,000 merchants in Korea by the end
of the year.
The system integrates the EMV (Europay-MasterCard-Visa) global
smart card standard and IrFM (Infrared Financial Messaging), the
global interoperable standard for infrared transmission. Using an
infrared-enabled handset, a Visa cardholder or SKT subscriber can
pay for goods and services by beaming an infrared signal from their
mobile phone to a small infrared receiver located at retail
point-of-sale terminals, vending machines, subway stalls, tollgates,
buses and other payment locations. The cardholder’s payment
details are stored securely on an EMV chip within the handset.
EMV smart cards "provide greater security and give customers
a wide range of new payment functions," said Mark Burbridge,
senior vice president and general manager, e-Visa Asia Pacific.
"Visa and SKT are using the extra capabilities of smart cards
to enable Visa cardholders to make payments with their mobile
devices easily and securely."
For more information: http://www.visa.com
MobileInfo.com’s Comments & Advisory: This
wireless payment system solution in Korea is significant in so far as
it employs older and mature infrared technology and not Bluetooth for
tranferring credit card information to the POS terminal. In a sense,
for this application, line-of-sight technology is more secure because
beaming action is human-controlled and deliberate as compared to a
RF-based beaming which is essentially automatic. While technology
enthusiasts will prefer latest Bluetooth technology that is more
versatile, a little doze of human intervention that adds to security
is worth it.
Note: This news release may contain
forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
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