Visa confirms the Samsung Galaxy S III as the Olympics phone for mobile payments

LONDON & SEOUL & NEW ORLEANS, May 09, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Samsung Electronics and Visa today announced that the Samsung GALAXY S III, the latest in smartphone innovation, will be Samsung's Olympic Games Phone during the London 2012 Games.

A limited edition showcase device enabled with Visa's mobile payment application, Visa payWave, will be available for Samsung and Visa sponsored athletes and trialists, making it possible to buy merchandise with a wave of the device at thousands of retail locations throughout London.

Samsung's Olympic Games phone for the London 2012 Games, comes equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) payment capability and is the next step in the partnership between the two global Olympic Games sponsors as they work together to drive the availability of commercial mobile payments around the world.

"Mobile payment services enabled by NFC technology are gaining momentum around the world. The Samsung GALAXY S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind and is the ideal device to showcase the ease and convenience of Visa's mobile payment application at the London 2012 Olympic Games," said DJ Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing team of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business.

By the time of the Olympic Games there will be more than 140,000 contactless terminals around the UK. From the moment visitors land at Heathrow they will be immersed in a contactless payment experience with everything from taxis, to retail outlets, to the Olympic Park itself.

Sandra Alzetta, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Visa Europe says: "Mobile technology has long been a revolutionary force in our lives and NFC-enabled devices such as the Galaxy S III will fundamentally change the way we pay. The future is mobile and cash usage will only continue to decline as people use their mobile devices to manage their money, shop and pay. This summer our partnership with Samsung will showcase all the advantages of the future of payments: security, convenience, speed and flexibility being forefront among them."

"The GALAXY S III with NFC technology is part of an evolution that will entirely change the way people shop, pay and get paid all over the world," said Bill Gajda, Global Head of Mobile Products at Visa Inc. "This summer we will be demonstrating the future of payments in London - a future where most consumers will rely on mobile devices, tablets and PCs to manage their daily financial lives. Our relationship with Samsung gets us closer to that vision, with a stunning new device that is sure to turn heads at the London 2012 Games."

The showcase device is supported and enabled by London 2012 Games partner Lloyds TSB in the UK.

Mike Regnier, Personal Current Accounts & Credit Cards Director, Lloyds TSB, says: "Mobile payments are set to transform the payment process around the world, and will revolutionise the way people pay in the run up to, during, and beyond the London 2012 Games. We are delighted to be working with Visa to showcase the flexibility and convenience of this new technology at the world's biggest sporting event, and excited to see the Samsung Galaxy S III in action."

Visa payWave for mobile allows users to simply select the Visa icon on their mobile device and hold the phone to a contactless payment terminal to pay. Purchases above £20 require a passcode. The application also allows customers to check their transaction history and view their account balance.

Introducing Samsung GALAXY S III to provide a life extraordinary

Designed for natural, intuitive use, the GALAXY S III is a phone that recognizes, understands, responds, and lets you share a moment instantly and easily. An evolution of the GALAXY S brand, the GALAXY S III is a sleek, smart, and simple phone that offers advanced software and technology, with greatly enhanced usability and practicality to make life easier.

The GALAXY S III is packed with an array of intelligent, interactive new technologies that responds interactively to the human face, gestures and voice. Using its motion detection software, the phone allows the user to place a call by simply bringing the phone to their ear. Equipped with S Voice, the phone also offers the most advanced natural language voice recognition software.

Stylish, comfortable and elegant, the Samsung GALAXY S III transforms how users experience and share content. It can beam multimedia to other GALAXY S III phones with a single tap or touch; or mirror it directly to a TV or PC screen so that everyone can share in the fun. It's Pop up play feature brings video multi-tasking to a mobile phone for the first time. Whatever you are doing or sharing, however you are communicating, the GALAXY S III makes it effortless and natural.

How NFC is Transforming Mobile Phones into Payment Devices

NFC technology has been adopted by payment networks, banks, merchants, mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators as the global standard for mobile payments.

NFC is already becoming the norm: Berg Insight reports that annual global sales of NFC-equipped handsets has increased ten-fold to 30 million devices in 2011 and is forecasted to reach 700 million units by 2016. In addition, an estimated 20 countries are expected to launch NFC services in the next 18 months, resulting in transactions approaching $50 billion worldwide by 2014, according to Juniper Research.

Samsung, the Worldwide Olympic Partner for Wireless Communications Equipment, and Visa, the Worldwide Olympic Partner and exclusive payment services sponsor, will be demonstrating this new payment innovation with the GALAXY S III in the Olympic Village and throughout London for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.