The small scale payments trial, run in conjunction with mobile operator Claro and two banks, is one of several moves towards NFC now taking place in Brazil.
Visa, mobile operator Claro, VisaNet Brasil and two banks have begun a small scale NFC payments trial in Brazil.
Seventy people have been equipped with Nokia mobile phones that they can use to make payments at any retailer equipped to accept Visa payWave contactless payments — both of the banks involved in the trial, Banco do Brasil and Bradesco, recently launched both contactless payments and Visa Mobile Pay in Brazil.
“Mobile proximity payments improve the shopping experience and allow the consumer to choose the most convenient way to shop everyday, creating value for everyone involved in the financial system,” says Percival Jatoba, chief executive of Visa products in Brazil.
Future plans include the introduction of phone-based account management, alerts, coupon and voucher services.
Reports in the Brazilian press also indicate that Chinese handset manufacturer ZTE has begun marketing its NFC handset in Brazil this month.
And Oi Paggo, the SMS-based mobile payments business owned by telecoms operator Oi, also has NFC plans. “Oi Paggo believes in NFC and will have news soon,” Gabriel Ferreira, head of Oi Paggo, told Teletime this week.
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