Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has developed a new mobile app that lets customers use their phones to tap and pay at the point of sale, as well as make peer-to-peer payments via email, contact info and even through Facebook.
Built for Apple iPhone users, “Commbank Kaching” works in tandem with Wireless Dynamics’ attachable iCarte NFC module to enable contactless payments. Kaching users without iCarte can still transfer funds to other users by selecting their contact info in their phone’s address book or by sending them an email, as seen in the video above.
The app even lets users send money over Facebook to people on their friends list. “Mobile and online social payment is the next step in transaction technology,” said David Lindberg, Commbank’s executive general manager of Cards, Payments and Retail Strategy. “Now, for the first time, Australian consumers will no longer have to rely on cash or cards to make payments to family, friends or even businesses.”
Contactless payments with Kaching are supported by the MasterCard PayPass network, which encompasses some 42,000 terminals across Australia.
The app features password encryption technology to ensure that a lost or stolen phone will not enable someone to access a user’s personal banking details. Additionally, the app is authorized to be used on only one handset, and no personal banking information is stored on the phone. Receivers of payments are also protected, with all un-retrieved funds being credited to the payer after 14 days, according to Commbank.
Commbank says it will make Kaching available in the coming months to Apple iPhone users with iOS4.3 and above, with the iCarte cover compatible with iPhone 4/4S. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/nfcnews-4.gif)
