Rogers Wireless joins RBC and Visa in mobile phone payment
pilotWave your mobile phone for the ultimate freedom to purchase
TORONTO, October 30, 2008 — RBC, 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."
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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 www.corporate.visa.com.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) 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
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: www.rogers.com.
Contact:
Visa
Teri Broughton
416-860-8869
tbrought@visa.com
RBC
Jackie Braden - RBC Media Relations
416-974-2124
jackie.braden@rbc.com
Rogers Wireless
Odette Coleman
416-935-6441
odette.coleman@rci.rogers.com
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