Microsoft has launched it own mobile payment platform.
Looking back, Microsoft Wallet was inevitable. All of the company’s major IT competitors—Apple and Google, as well as Samsung—had launched their own mPayment platforms over a year ago, and appear to be picking up steam as they continue to spread into new markets. Why wouldn’t Microsoft want to get in on the emerging mPayment market?
And so here it is, with a new tap-to-pay system available for Windows Insiders—users who are signed up to beta test new Windows products and services. Microsoft Wallet currently has the support of Visa and MasterCard, as well as several major banks including Bank of America and People’s United Bank, and with the support of Chase, US Bank, and others in the pipeline.
Unlike Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, Microsoft Wallet doesn’t use biometric authentication to verify transactions, relying instead on one-time tokens and encryption, similar to Android Pay. But it is available on Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL (as well as the 650 and 650 Dual SIM), which feature biometric iris scanning functionality, and if users use this to lock their devices, that will essentially add a layer of biometric authentication to the transaction process. It’s always possible that such security will be made mandatory for future upgrades of Microsoft Wallet, but for now that doesn’t seem likely, since the company will want to make it as widely available as possible as it seeks to compete with the other, more established major platforms.
Source: Windows Experience Blog
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