ERICSSON, VISA PARTNER

Ericsson and Visa International recently signed an agreement to develop secure payment systems for purchasing goods and services over the Internet via a mobile terminal.

The partnership will develop mobile e-commerce and drive open standards such as the WAP, Bluetooth, SET Secure Electronic Transaction and EMV protocols to address different market requirements for payment transactions over wireless networks.

Both companies will be developing a payment system for mobile e-commerce using Ericsson’s Bluetooth-enabled wireless wallet, which contains smart card readers. A smart card inserted into the wallet can communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile terminal through a short-range radio frequency protocol designed to allow devices to interact remotely. The wallet can stay in the pocket of the user while interacting with the mobile phone.