Visa Canada Introducing a Digital Wallet in the Future

For many shoppers, the Internet has always been a place where they can find great deals from the comfort of their home. The only issue I have found with Internet shopping is the fact that for every purchase, I would have input my credit card information; this is not to say it is a hard task, but more of a tedious one.

The question is, what could make Internet shopping easier?

I came across an article on Moneyville that has Visa Canada staking a bigger claim in Internet shopping as they plan on launching a digital wallet this fall, with the intent to simplify online purchases.

What does this mean?

The wallet is more like a service than a physical product would allow users to keep all of their payment, shipping and other information in one easy to use online location.

This digital wallet is promoted as a “click to buy” solution, allows consumers to press a single button a website, which would in turn link them to their wallet and complete the purchase without the user to have to manually enter their account information every time they plan on making a purchase.

It was also revealed that a mobile version could possibly be in the works, which would allow users to do the same thing from their cell phones.

The whole idea behind the digital wallet is to make online shopping just as secure as it is convenient.

Smartphones house a technology called NFC technology, which holds the possibility that in the future banks can potentially allow cardholders to have their credit card information housed in their smartphones, allowing purchases to be made right from the smartphone, rather than pulling out the physical card.

With that in mind, Visa Canada does hope that eventually, the mobile version of the digital wallet would be used as a payment device in stores.

This announcement comes in as part of a global initiative by Visa Inc., which currently faced competition from PayPal Inc. and other non-traditional service providers in the growing online marketplace.

In the article is revealed that Visa Canada is in the talks with several leading financial institutions, which includes Scotiabank, TD Bank Group, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and BMO Bank of Montreal to make the feature available here.

How I see it, these banks can help Visa promote their digital wallet to their cardholders, which can ensure that their respective credit card is at the top of their list. The beauty the digital wallet is the fact that it is not limited to one bank, or one credit card. You will be able to hold multiple credit card products, allowing you to choose exactly which credit card you want to use at the time of purchase.

TD is currently waiting to see how the product is priced, and how widely it is accepted. RBC on the other hard is pleased to partner with Visa and is working with them to launch the digital wallet in the fall.

BMO on the other hand has noted that it is too early to know for certain what specific payment capabilities will emerge or how the landscape will change.

How much will this cost?

Currently, there has been no pricing released for the product, however what Mike Bradley, head of products at Visa Canada has explained is that when it comes to cost, they are committed to transparency.

Potentially, the digital wallet can do a lot for merchants in the long run. The digital wallet can speed up transactions, reduce the number of abandoned checkout cards, and most importantly, reduce the burden of protecting credit card information.

What I want to see is it customers being able to use the mobile version of the digital wallet to make purchases at stores by waving their smartphones over a payment terminal.

It is great to see Visa Canada take the initiative in the online market, allowing consumers to have an easy and secure location to house their credit card information.

I cannot wait to see the digital wallet in action, and what else it will bring in the future.

What do you think of the digital wallet?

image source: MoneyBlogNewz