Written in collaboration with Damien Chow, Chief Product Officer, MineSec.
Visa’s recent launch of a new payment solution in Latin America and the Caribbean is disrupting the world of online payments. This innovative solution pilot leverages SoftPOS technology to transform any NFC-enabled Android mobile phone into a secure payment terminal for online purchases.
A Frictionless Payment Experience for Consumers
Traditionally, the online checkout process required consumers to manually enter a multitude of details including the 16-digit credit card number, expiry date, CVV, billing address, and sometime even go through 3D Secure or OTP verification. It’s a Card-Not-Present (CNP) transaction that is both cumbersome and time consuming. This friction in the buying journey can lead to consumers abandoning their carts and lost sales for online merchants. To top it off, it also has a high fraud rate.
Visa’s innovative solution eliminates these pain points by transforming the online shopping experience into one that’s as effortless and intuitive as an in-store transaction. Consumers can simply tap their credit card on their own NFC-enabled Android mobile phone to complete their online purchase.
Enhanced Security and Lower Fraud Rates
This 'tap on your own device’ approach offers significant security benefits for both consumers and merchants. By converting a Card-Not-Present transaction to a Card-Present one, the inherent security risks associated with online payments are significantly reduced.
The possibility of skimming or data breaches is minimized as the physical card remains with the consumer throughout the payment process. It also eliminates the need for consumers to store their credit card information on merchant websites. This can be appealing to consumers who are wary about saving their financial data online.
Benefits for Merchants
Beyond the improved user experience, the new use for SoftPOS presents a compelling proposition for merchants as well.
- Reduced Fraud Rates: Converting online transactions into Card-Present transactions significantly reduces the chances of fraudulent activity. This translates to lower chargeback fees for businesses.
- Lower Merchant Discount Rates (MDRs): Card-Present transactions typically qualify for lower MDRs compared to Card-Not-Present transactions. This can lead to significant cost savings for merchants who adopt this new payment method.
- Improved Conversion Rates: Faster and more convenient checkout processes can lead to higher conversion rates and increased sales for businesses.
The Future of SoftPOS
SoftPOS technology has proved its potential to revolutionize the way we pay, both online and offline. Visa’s 'tap on your own device’ pilot program is a pioneering example of how this technology can be leveraged to create a more secure, frictionless, and user-friendly payment experience.
As SoftPOS technology continues to develop and become more widely adopted, we can expect to see it integrated into a wider range of devices and the emergence of even more innovative use cases. This will pave the way for a future where nearly any mobile device can be transformed into a secure payment terminal, offering a seamless and secure payment experience for both consumers and merchants.