Rogers suretap mobile wallet heading to market
The suretap mobile wallet from Canadian telco Rogers will be available within weeks. Suretap will work on select NFC-enabled smartphones and will offer a co-branded virtual Rogers Prepaid MasterCard and gift cards from select national retailers as the first cards available for download.
Rogers said additional cards will soon become available for download, including payment cards from multiple banks and payment networks and loyalty cards.
The suretap wallet will store payment information and passcodes on the devices' secure SIM card and let customers send gift cards, reload prepaid cards, check account balances, view recent transactions and use location services to find contactless payment terminals nearby.
MasterCard Canada President Betty DeVita said the release of suretap will help drive mobile payment adoption in Canada. "As a technology company, enabling mobile payments is a priority, as we know consumers are using their smartphones as commerce devices," she said in a news release.
Since its 2006 introduction, MasterCard's contactless card acceptance footprint has expanded to include 72 percent of Canada's top retailers, the company said, and it believes Canadians will use the same tap-and-go technology to pay with their smartphones.
"We are thrilled to work with MasterCard to bring the contactless payment experience Canadians know today to their smartphone," David Robinson, vice president of emerging business for Rogers, said in the release. "Canadians are looking for a simple and secure way to pay, and together with MasterCard we will deliver innovative solutions that give our customers this option on a mobile device."
Learn more about mobile/digital wallets.