Visa has introduce a new prepaid mobile payment platform targeting consumers in developing countries. The company hopes to gain leverage on a very large mobile phone users in developing countries, a significant percentage of them are already using local but carrier-bound mobile payment systems, so it could offer an interoperable mobile payment network that is global in scale. This payment system, a product of its recent acquisition of mobile money platform Fundamo, will enable account holders to send funds to each other, send and receive international remittances, make purchases at merchants or online where Visa is accepted or withdraw funds at a Visa ATM.
The company adds its platform is more secure, cheaper, and more convenient compared to competitors such as Western Union. This new product will be first tested in Nigera and Uganda early next year courtesy of telecommunications provider MTN Group, which Visa hopes will spread in more developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
