Visa Expands Russian NFC M-Payment Footprint

Russia-based payment services provider QIWI announced yesterday (Aug. 18) the launch of contactless smartphone payments through its strategic partnership with Visa.

Visa’s payWave-based contactless payment option will be integrated with QIWI payment services to create a co-branded Visa QIWI Wallet. The joint solution will allow the millions of the e-wallet users to pay with their mobile devices anywhere Visa payWave contactless cards are accepted.

“Contactless payment technology is gaining increasing popularity. According to analysts, almost 600 million NFC-enabled phones will be sold in 2015. Even today, contactless payments volumes amount to billions of dollars worldwide and we are pleased that through our partnership with Visa, we are able to offer our users this promising and convenient technology for their everyday purchases,” Anna Stoklitskaya, Managing Director of QIWI Group, said in a company release.

The Visa QIWI Wallet account can be linked to a bankcard or mobile phone account, enabling the e-wallet to be topped up at any of the 100,000 QIWI kiosks available throughout Russia, QIWI confirmed.

“Over the past year, the number of transactions made with Visa payWave in Russia has increased four times, while their volumes have increased seven-fold. Moreover, in [Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa], Russia ranks first in terms of the penetration of contactless payments made with Visa payWave cards. These facts convincingly prove that this technology is popular among cardholders, primarily due to its convenience and security,” explained Andrew Torre, country manager for Visa Russia.

Visa payWave will come preinstalled in the latest version of the e-wallet or can be downloaded as an update for those who have already installed the Visa QIWI Wallet application.

“All you need to do is to hold your Visa payWave card or, now, your smartphone with the QIWI Visa Wallet app installed, up to the terminal. Transactions of up to 1000 rubles do not usually require a PIN, and it takes only a fraction of a second for the card to communicate with the terminal. This in turn determines the segments where this payment method is highly in demand — supermarkets, gas stations and fast food restaurants. Now that contactless payments with Visa payWave have become a part of the QIWI e-Wallet, even more users in Russia can appreciate the benefits of this technology,” Torre said.

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