Visa Europe has announced plans to introduce a tokenisation security system that could pave the way for Apple Pay, according to a Reuters report by Eric Auchard. According to the article, a similar system has been instrumental in ensuring the success of Apple Pay in the American market, though it would also open the door to Apple rivals.
There are hints that some of this planning was done in anticipation of an Apple Pay rollout. When asked whether Apple Pay would be using Visa Europe’s new security system, the company’s chief digital officer, Steve Perry, coyly said that “Apple and Visa (Inc) have an agreement around what has happened… but we have to wait.” The companies might as well come out and say it: A prematurely-posted job ad pretty much laid out the plan at the end of last year.
That mCommerce business aside, it’s a smart move for Visa Europe to employ a tokenisation service simply for the advanced security. More and more transactions are taking place digitally, with sensitive financial data facing new security vulnerabilities. The new security system is also allowing Visa to let its customers send money overseas via social networking sites, the article notes, and to conduct peer-to-peer transactions via Visa direct, a revamped version of a previous, limited service called Visa Personal Payments.
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