Tag: australia

Visa brings tokenization technology to Australia’s mobile payments space

| March 2, 2015

Tokenization could help make mobile payments in Australia more secure for businesses and consumers

Visa has begun rolling out a new tokenization initiative in Australia. Tokenization is a relatively new trend that has begun to emerge in the mobile payments field. It involves replacing a consumer’s personal and financial information with digital tokens, which can be used to authenticate mobile transactions. These tokens add a new layer of security to mobile payments, as they do not contain financial information, which makes them a less attractive target for those that would seek to exploit such information.

Tokens bring a new layer of security to the mobile space that is difficult to break through

Digital tokens take the form of a unique, 16-digit number. This process is becoming more popular in the mobile payments market due to the risks that exist in the digital world. Over the past few years, cyber attacks against companies that support mobile commerce, and consumers that partake therein, have increased. With cyber attacks becoming more common, businesses are looking for better ways to protect themselves and their customers. Visa is one company that is offering a solution to this problem.

Stolen tokens are largely useless to hackers

Mobile Payments - AustraliaVisa is making its tokenization technology available in Australia, which could help foster the growth of mobile payments in the country. Visa notes that if tokens are actually stolen by malicious parties, it cannot be used elsewhere, and tokens can be deactivated in a quick manner. Tokens are generated in and are unique to every payment environment, which means that they cannot be used on other platforms unless they are generated for that platform specifically.

Australia’s mobile payments space could experience growth due to the incorporation of token technology

Security has long been a serious problem for the mobile payments space. Because of the relative youth of this sector, security measures have not yet caught up with the risks that exist therein. Tokenization could help make mobile payments more attractive to consumers and businesses, many of whom believe that participating in mobile commerce is a risk to their financial information.

Banks could see fee revenue drop because of mobile payments

| September 30, 2014

Australians planning to purchase a new iPhone could avoid bank fees

The new iPhone 6 may have an impact on bank fee revenue in Australia, according to a report from Roy Morgan Research. The report shows that more than 1.5 million consumers throughout Australia have plans to purchase an iPhone within the next 12 months. While buying a new mobile device would not usually affect banking revenues, the new iPhone will serve as a mobile payments platform, supported by the Apple Pay service. The service could do away with banking fees entirely.

Report shows that many people planning to buy a new iPhone are already aware of mobile payments

The report shows that many people planning to purchase a new iPhone are already familiar with mobile payments. An estimated 29.4% of consumers in the country make a mobile payment regularly throughout any given month and these people are likely to embrace Apple Pay with enthusiasm. Many financial institutions are supporting the new payment service, but in doing so they may see reductions in the revenue they acquire through fees.

Younger consumers may be more apt to use Apple Pay

Australia Mobile PaymentsThose planning to make use of the Apple Pay service in Australia are also considered to have a “high spend potential.” The report shows that many of these people have a higher than average household income, but are not necessarily knowledgeable about mobile commerce. Younger consumers are expected to use the Apple Pay service more regularly, while older consumers may favor traditional commerce platforms that they have become quite comfortable with.

New mobile commerce services allow consumers to avoid bank fees

Mobile payments are becoming more common throughout Australia and the demand for mobile services is on the rise. Banks are beginning to accommodate this demand by offering their support to services like Apple Pay, but in doing so these banks may be exposing themselves to new risks. One of these risks involves a drop in fee revenue. Services like Apple Pay often allow consumers to avoid certain services offered by banks, which allows people to also avoid bank fees.