ICICI Bank has become the first institution worldwide to launch mVisa – a card-less and device-less solution the payments company is betting on in the mobile space. ICICI Bank has incorporated the mVisa application in its Pockets app, which allows payments to be made by scanning a static QR code and entering the amount.
For its mVisa launch, ICICI Bank has tied up with 1,500 merchants in Bangalore and it plans to ramp up this number to 15,000 in a couple of months. State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank are also working on incorporating mVisa in their own mobile applications.
The bank is targeting small merchants and service providers who are new to cards. The merchant does not require any hardware. The QR code, which provides the customers with the merchant’s bank details, can be in the form of a simple printout or an electronic display. A key difference between card payment and mVisa payment is that the transaction is initiated by the customer who also enters the details, which considerably reduces chances of fraud.
At present, ICICI Bank requires that mVisa be linked to the bank’s debit card. This means that, of the two million who have downloaded the app, only those with ICICI Bank accounts can currently use it.