Visa dubs upcoming digital wallet service 'V.me,' looks to differentiate product line
You may be using a Visa digital wallet next year, even if the brand name says otherwise (my Visa account was hacked twice in the past 18 months to procure vast amounts of premium shampoo and Xbox Live account add-ons, so maybe it's a good thing). Recently, the company announced that it will be using the name V.me to distinguish its upcoming digital wallet from its other services. The service, which is expected to launch in early 2012 following a private beta period, will allow customers to fund the account via their Visa card, a MasterCard account or their bank account. Taking a lead from competitors such as PayPal, Amazon.com and American Express, customers will be able to log in through a user name and password as opposed to keying in their 16-digit account number each time. A PayPal-esque send and receive money feature is also in the works, allowing for users to shoot money to each other on the fly. The company has also stated that it will be developing mobile-friendly applications for shopping from a smartphone or a tablet, the apps eventually allowing people to pay using near-field technology. And if someone can buy $500 worth of premium shampoo on an innocent man's card just by pointing their smartphone on it, that's technology in action.
