Visa has announced that its tap-to-phone (TTP) has experienced a 200% increase in adoption over the past year, with countries like the U.S, UK and Brazil showing a combined growth rate of 234%. TTP has expanded Visa's capabilities by turning smartphones into point-of-sale devices.
The company says nearly 30% of tap sellers are new small businesses and the technology is helping to democratise access to commerce tools and empower micro-sellers and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
“Tap to Phone is a tech equaliser for businesses. Walk into some of the world’s largest retailers or go to your local farmer’s market and they’re using this same technology to accept payments right on their phone,” said Mark Nelsen, Global Head of Consumer Products at Visa. “People love to tap, so we’re continuing to expand our tap capabilities to create the best payments experiences for people and businesses.”
The upward trend for TTP is expected to continue through the next year as more consumers and businesses begin to recognise the benefits of tap technology and more use cases may hit the market. For example, Visa cardholders can add their Visa cards to Apple Wallet faster than ever, with no need to manually input card details.
Additionally, the company has developed Tap to Confirm, which allows consumers to quickly and securely authenticate a high value transfer and Tap to Send and Request money, a feature that allows you to tap your physical card or card credential to a device wallet on a friend’s phone to securely send and receive money quickly and seamlessly.
Tap to Send will be available later this year on Samsung Galaxy devices as “Tap to Transfer.”
Lungile is the Digital Editor for TechAfrica, with a knack for storytelling, technology and innovative ideas. Working with TechAfrica, she takes simple ideas and turns them into amazing stories.
