Visa said a major announcement was coming in May. Today, the world learned what the globe’s biggest credit and debit card processing network has in store.
On Wednesday, Visa announced that it’s building a digital wallet that customers will be able to use to pay for purchases online rather than a traditional plastic card.
Visa says its presently working with multiple US and international banks to develop the digital wallet. Reuters is reporting that Visa’s partners include US Bancorp, PNC Financial Services, Regions Financial, BB&T Corp, Toronto Dominion’s TD Bank and the U.S. arm of Barclays PLC.
The “digital wallet” will store the banks’ customers’ credit and debit card account information, both for Visa cards and other cards. People can use the wallet to pay for things online or in stores, Visa said.
The ultimate success of the network, however, could depend on whether Visa will successfully manage to convince merchants to place a “one-click” button on their websites. This feature would allow users to make purchases with one-click, instead of having to enter all of their account and payment information for every purchase.
Visa plans to debut the digital wallet in the United States and Canada during the fall of 2011.
