TORONTO – Walletless transactions will become a reality in Canada in two weeks with CIBC and Rogers unveiling their digital transaction solution that turns smartphones into mobile credit cards. The joint mobile payment solution offers an app that will allow customers with NFC-enabled smartphones to tap them at checkouts to pay for purchases using the secure SIM card inside.
Forecasts for mobile commerce suggest that it will become a significant method of payment in just the next few years. By 2016, Technology Strategy International forecasts that almost 80% of the smartphones in Canada will be NFC-enabled, and IE Market Research forecasts total mobile payments in Canada will reach $14.2 billion.
If you are a CIBC credit card client and have a Rogers smartphone you can “pay for coffee, groceries, and other everyday purchases simply by holding [your] smartphone up to one of the tens of thousands of contactless payment terminals at merchants across Canada” according to a news release from the companies.
Simon Whitfield, Pan American Games and Olympic medalist, performed the credit card transaction, buying coffee at Tim Hortons using the CIBC Mobile Payment app on a BlackBerry smartphone from Rogers.
"We're pleased to make history in mobile commerce in Canada by completing the country's first mobile credit card transaction," said David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice-President and Group Head, Retail and Business Banking, CIBC. "Getting a coffee while you are on the go is just one example of the kind of transaction that's going to be made easier when you can pay in just seconds with a CIBC credit card on your smartphone, and we're excited about the possibilities this offers our clients."
"Canadians are amongst the most connected consumers around the world, and we have put Canada on the world stage today as a global leader in mobile commerce," said David Robinson, Vice President of Emerging Business, Rogers Communications. "We are passionate about delivering technology innovations and powering new mobile experiences for our customers," said Robinson. “Making the first mobile credit card payment means that we are one step closer to allowing Canadians to store everything they need, securely, in their smartphone."
The CIBC Mobile Payment app will be accepted at the tens of thousands of Visa payWave and MasterCard PayPass contactless terminals across Canada and around the world. As the rollout to clients begins, the new CIBC Mobile Payment app will initially be available on two smartphones on the Rogers wireless network, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360, beginning November 16, 2012.
As of today, NFC SIM cards required to access the solution on Rogers suretap ready devices can be ordered online. Additional suretap-ready devices will support the solution in 2013, including Android and Windows Phone 8 platforms, broadening the offer to more Canadians.
The companies say their solution aligns to guidelines announced earlier this year by the Canadian Bankers Association for mobile payments in Canada, as well as those developed by respected international associations such as the GSM Association (GSMA), the association of mobile operators and related companies dedicated to standardizing and supporting GSM technology and Global Platform, a cross industry, not-for-profit association focused on secure and interoperable deployment and management of embedded applications on secure chip technology.
"In a few years, a mobile wallet will be as common as a camera on a smartphone. The opportunity in mobile payments for our business is just getting started – our vision is to take the millions of cards Canadians carry today and to make them instantly accessible and secured on the SIM card of a smartphone," noted Robinson.
