Visa has announced a beta version of a free digital wallet service called V.me by Visa. It’s just available in the USA and Canada at the moment.
V.me, which is expected to launch publicly in 2012, is designed to let shoppers pay online and in person by using a PC, tablet or mobile phone. It’ll work with Visa and non-Visa accounts, although Visa users will be able to receive additional alerts about their account.
Much of the service operates in a similar way to PayPal. Consumers sign up online with their card details and billing address, choosing a username and password. When they’re purchasing an item online, they click the ‘V.me by Visa’ option before entering their username and password. An NFC option for real-world mobile purchases is expected when the service launches next year.
[Visa blog]