FOSTER CITY & CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Visa Inc. recently announced it is supporting consumer payments with the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. Thanks to a new capability called Visa Token Service, participating financial institutions in the United States will be able to add Visa debit and credit cards to Apple Pay, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple's new payment service, and enable their customers to make easy and secure purchases at select U.S. merchants both in stores and in apps.
Visa Token Service technology works by replacing sensitive payment account information found on plastic cards with a digital account number or "token" that can be safely stored on mobile devices and used for in store and in app purchases. Visa will roll out the service to financial institutions in phases--initially supporting early participants in the Apple Pay launch, and then extending the service availability to all of its U.S. clients.
"Combining the trust, scale and security of Visa payments with Apple Pay will accelerate adoption of mobile payments," said Charlie Scharf, CCEO of Visa Inc., Foster City, Calif. "We said from the beginning that token services would provide great new consumer and merchant experiences, and you're seeing it today in our efforts with Apple, and there's more to come."
Apple Pay lets consumers make purchases in some of the most highly visited stores and within apps on the App Store with the touch of a finger, using the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. Visa accountholders will continue to receive all of the rewards, benefits and security offered by Visa credit and debit cards.
By enabling Visa accountholders to also make purchases in store and in app with their new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, consumers will now have a seamless experience with their preferred form of payment.
"The combination of new digital experiences from Apple with new network capabilities from Visa provides for great payment experiences and enhanced security for millions of Visa account holders, merchants and financial institutions," said Scharf.
CyberSource and Authorize.Net, two Visa-owned payment platforms, have also integrated with Apple Pay, providing online merchants with payment management solutions and supporting them to securely accept in app payments from the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch.
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