Visa Inc has appointed Bill Gajda as its new head of mobile. Gajda will join Visa from the GSMA, where he is currently the mobile association’s chief commercial officer, responsible for strategic initiatives including mobile money, mobile money transfer, mobile advertising, strategic partnerships, mobile innovation and business development. Gajda is also president of the GSM Foundation, a position he will continue to maintain as head of mobile at Visa.

“Gajda’s position at Visa is designed to further advance Visa’s mobile strategy, working in collaboration with the wireless and financial services industries to bring mobile payments and related services to consumers around the globe,” says the official announcement.

“Visa has made great strides in forming strategic alliances and working in collaboration with the wireless industry to bring mobile financial services to consumers in both mature and emerging markets,” says Elizabeth Buse, global head of product at Visa Inc. “Bill’s experience in working with mobile network operators, handset manufacturers and other leaders in wireless, combined with his track record in helping to develop successful business models, will be a significant asset as Visa’s aims to commercialize mobile financial services around the globe.”

Prior to joining the GSMA, Gajda was head of marketing at Ericsson, and also held key positions at Bell Canada International and Telus.

Last week, Visa teamed up with the GSMA for an NFC trial at the Mobile World Congress. The payments network also announced last week that it is to run a number of field trials using DeviceFidelity’s microSD-based NFC solution.

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