News

Bank of China, Visa to pilot SMS transactions

February 25, 2003

HONG KONG -- As ATM deployers slowly move toward offering transactions such as bill payment and movie ticket purchases at the ATM, a partnership between Bank of China (BOC) Credit Card (International) Ltd, CSLtelecom and Visa International plans to launch the world's first SMS (short messaging service)-based mobile commerce service.

According to a report in the People's Daily, the service is set to launch in Hong Kong on March 1.

BOC Visa credit cardholders and CSL customers who register for the new service will be able to pay for goods and services via SMS with their mobile phones over the CSL network, with the same level of security as they do in the physical world.

The three companies plan to partner with a variety of merchants to offer applications such as phone bill payment and movie ticket purchases during a four-month pilot, according to the People's Daily. 

Customers will have to register on a designated Web site hosted by BOC Credit Card and CSL. After registering, customers will be notified by e-mail and receive a password, which they can personalize later.

During the SMS transactions, the "verified by Visa" service will allow the card issuer to verify the identities of mobile users through their password before authorizing charges for mobile purchases.