Standard Chartered and Visa team up to launch India's first mobile credit card

Standard Chartered and Visa have launched India's first mobile credit card, 'm-Wallet'. With this leap in credit card technology, users will find shopping easier and would be able to pay for their purchases from select outlets through their mobile phones instead of credit cards.

Currently being taken up as a pilot project amongst select credit card users of the bank's Manhattan card in Mumbai and Bangalore, m-Wallet is designed to make contact-less payments. The new service uses an in-built PKI security and Java based technology. It has been developed by a team of global technology experts using the best security technology standards to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the card holder''s account information.

Santanu Mukherjee, country manager, South Asia, Visa International said, "m-Wallet is yet another step towards convergence of mobile phones and payment cards and the growth of universal commerce — anytime, anywhere, any way."

To use the 'card', customers will have to download and install first, a java application using GPRS and then their virtual Manhattan card on their mobile phone to get started. All details of the download sequence for both the application and the virtual card are available in a simple user guide. To make a payment, customers have to hold their mobile phone against the card acceptance machine and 'beam' the card details in to it at the payment counter using the infrared mode from his mobile phone. A physical credit card does not need to be swiped at all for completing the payment.

Jan Verplancke, chief information officer and group head, technology and operations, Standard Chartered Group said, "By providing our customers with a payment wallet in their mobile phones, we empower them with the capability to pay for their goods and services electronically while on the move."