Visa and Apple opening a new era of payments on mobile devices – payment account information found on plastic are replacing with a „token”

New Visa Token Service facilitates secure consumer payments with new Apple devices; service to be available to all U.S. financial institutions starting in the fourth quarter of 2014

Visa Inc. announced it is supporting consumer payments with the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. Thanks to a new capability called Visa Token Service, participating financial institutions in the U.S., and eventually abroad, will be able to add Visa debit and credit cards to Apple Pay, Apple’s new payment service, and enable their customers to make easy and secure purchases at select U.S. merchants both in stores and in apps.

Visa Token Service technology works by replacing sensitive payment account information found on plastic cards with a digital account number or “token” that can be safely stored on mobile devices and used for in store and in app purchases. Visa will roll out the service to financial institutions in phases – initially supporting early participants in the Apple Pay launch, and then extending the service availability to all of its U.S. clients.

“Combining the trust, scale and security of Visa payments with Apple Pay will accelerate adoption of mobile payments,” said Charlie Scharf, Chief Executive Officer, Visa Inc. “We said from the beginning that token services would provide great new consumer and merchant experiences, and you’re seeing it today in our efforts with Apple, and there’s more to come.”

Apple Pay lets you make purchases in some of the most highly visited stores and within apps on the App Store with just the touch of a finger, using the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. Visa account holders will continue to receive all of the rewards, benefits and security offered by Visa credit and debit cards.

By enabling Visa account holders to also make purchases in store and in app with their new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, consumers will now have a seamless experience with their preferred form of payment.

“The combination of new digital experiences from Apple with new network capabilities from Visa provides for great payment experiences and enhanced security for millions of Visa account holders, merchants and financial institutions,” said Scharf.
CyberSource and Authorize.Net, two Visa-owned payment platforms, have also integrated with Apple Pay, providing online merchants with payment management solutions and supporting them to securely accept in app payments from the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch.