Bank of America and Visa are planning to initiate a program to test cell phone payments from September 2010, to enable customers pay for purchases in stores using their smartphones.
The program is expected to last till the year end in the New York area. The program aims to bring the concept of ‘digital wallet’ into reality, which will bring an array of financial capabilities into the users mobile phones, according to Reuters.
Visa is also planning to conduct a similar test program with US Bancorp this year.
Reuters quoted Bank of America electronic commerce head Laurie Readhead as saying that the company sees this as a critical capability given the increasing acceptance and adoption of bank services on the phone.
Visa spokeswoman Elvira Swanson said the Bank of America pilot was not larger than the company’s other mobile trials, but she said it could have a more powerful impact on the market than some previous pilots, as quoted by Reuters.