Visa, the US-based $12.7 billion global payments technology company, on Wednesday announced the opening of a new technology development centre here to accelerate digital commerce globally which will house 1,000 developers.
The company also unveiled mVisa, a new mobile payment service which it claims brings the benefits of secure digital commerce to financial institutions, merchants and consumers.
It will be tested in India later this year with merchants across the Bengaluru region and with customers of few selected banks.
“India has fast become one of the world’s most important technology epicentre with an incredible pool of technology talent,” said Visa Chief Executive Officer Charles W Scharf.
“Our new centre in Bangalore, which complements others planned for Singapore and the US, will help Visa to accelerate the development of next generation payment solutions that enable secure, digital commerce through connected devices like mobile phones, PCs, tablets and even cars,” said Scharf.
MVisa will be tested in India later this year with select customers of Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI. With mVisa, consumers can make card-free purchases, pay bills and send money to friends and family members.
“The technology centre spread over 100,000 square feet area is our the second-largest engineering facility outside the US,” said Visa EVP Technology Rajat Taneja.
“We have recruited about 400 employees in less than ten months. Over time we will have nearly 1,000 employees here. They will be focusing on digital, mobile, innovation platforms,” said Taneja.
According to a recent report by Juniper Research, worldwide mobile payment transaction volume, including all payments made via mobile phones and tablets, is projected to reach $3.27 trillion by 2018.