Visa inked deals with 3 mPOS providers to boost mobile commerce

Here's a new way to pay.

According to a release, Visa Inc. announced that it has signed agreements with three leading mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) providers to enable merchants of all sizes to accept Visa payments using mobile technology. iZettle, SumUp and SCCP Group’s Swiff, will participate in the Visa Ready Program to have their mobile acceptance hardware and software tested and approved for use with Visa payments.

Additionally, Visa announced that it has approved two new mPOS devices by AnywhereCommerce and Miura Systems to accept Visa payments. The companies aim to displace cash and checks with electronic payments by making it easier for merchants and acquirers in key geographies to deploy secure mobile acceptance terminals.

“The Visa Ready Program is designed to provide innovators with an easy way to collaborate with Visa and gives merchants and consumers the peace-of-mind they need when transacting with a mobile phone,” said Jim McCarthy, Global Head of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Visa Inc.

“Mobile acceptance technology is precisely the kind of innovation we need to bring the benefits of electronic payments to more merchants, financial institutions and consumers around the globe.”

The growing popularity of mPOS acceptance solutions, especially among micro and small merchants, is helping to drive the migration from cash to electronic payments. From 2011 to 2012, the number of mobile point-of-sale terminals in operation worldwide increased 111 percent, from 4.5 million to 9.5 million, and it is expected to reach 38 million in 2017.