MUMBAI, OCT 9: India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Thursday launched a service to enable customers to make electronic payments from their smartphones at physical stores, e-commerce and other deliveries at home, radio taxis, and utility billers, among others.
This service is based on ‘mVisa’, a new mobile payment solution from Visa. ICICI Bank claims to be the first bank globally to launch a mobile app-based ‘mVisa’ solution for consumers and merchants.
With this service, users of ‘Pockets’, ICICI Bank’s app, can make cashless payments from their smartphones using their debit card by simply scanning an ‘mVisa’ Quick Response (QR) code at a merchant location without swiping the card at an EDC machine, the bank said in a statement.
To use this facility, a customer needs to click on the ‘mVisa’ icon on the home screen of the ‘Pockets’ app. The app automatically activates the camera in the phone, allowing customers to scan the QR code and enter their debit card PIN.
To start with, this facility has been introduced in Bengaluru with 1,500 merchants and will shortly be extended to other cities.
Speaking at the launch of the service, Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank, said: “While there are 570 million debit cards in the country, there are only 1.1 million point-of-sale (POS) machines available for card payments which restrict cashless payments to a certain category of merchants. We believe the simplicity of this technology will allow us to address this market gap and enable digital payments for an array of untapped categories such as home deliveries, cab services, and small merchants.”
Stating that mVisa will provide the benefits of electronic payments to thousands of consumers and small merchants across India, in line with the Government’s digital India mission, TR Ramachandran, Visa Group Country Manager India and South Asia, said: “The mVisa solution will enable consumers to engage in secure and convenient payments, and more easily access funds in their existing bank accounts to make everyday purchases and pay utility bills.”
This service provides customers the convenience of speed to complete a transaction along with enhanced security as the card remains in the possession of the customer.
