Visa Launches PayPal Rival in Australia
Visa is planning to compete with PayPal and other payment providers in Australia by introducing its V.me digital wallet service in that country sometime before Christmas. Consumers who use V.me will be given a username and password to access their credit card accounts and use them to make purchases. Consumers will be able to use V.me to make payments from any major credit card account, regardless of the card’s brand, although they will not be able to make direct payments from savings accounts unless the account has a linked debit card. Nearly 40 regional and second-tier Australian banks say they would be involved in the launch and promotion of V.me, while a number of retailers say they will accept payments that are made using the service. Visa says V.me will have an advantage over PayPal because it does not charge merchants additional fees, whereas PayPal charges merchants between 1.1 percent and 2.4 percent. Gartner says the value of mobile payments will likely reach $235.4 billion this year, up 44 percent from $163.1 billion in 2012.
From “Visa Launches PayPal Rival in Australia”
Australian Financial Review (07/09/13) Hutchinson, James