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Visa to Secure Online Payments in Hong Kong with Apple Pay

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Visa, Inc. (V - Free Report) , a leader in global payments will now provide Apple Pay, Apple Inc.’s (AAPL - Free Report) , mobile payment and digital wallet service, for online payments in Hong Kong. With this service, Visa cardholders will be able to avail an easy, secure and private way to make payments online.

Apple Pay will use Visa Token Service that will ensure optimum security to the transaction by converting a cardholder’s information into a token and hiding it. Expanding the Apple Pay service will help Visa to increase its customer base as well as enhance its reputation as a renowned payment solution company in the world.

Apple Pay has been steadily gaining traction, with retailers and other service providers increasingly adopting the technology. The main aim of Apple Pay, which was launched in Sep 2014, is to provide consumers with a private and secured mode of payment. In line with this, a very safe and convenient solution has been developed. When a consumer adds a credit or a debit card to Apple Pay, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on the consumer’s mobile device. Thereafter, every time the customer makes a payment using Apple Pay, a one-time unique dynamic security code is generated for use instead of the security code from the back of the payment card, which nullifies chances of data theft.

The strengthening relationship with Apple Pay will likely be a long-term growth catalyst for Visa, as it adds to the secure and user-friendly contactless payments service (m-commerce) that these credit card giants are focusing on. Going forward, this secured operational model and investment in technology upgrade are expected to boost investors’ confidence in this card giant.

In another development, it was revealed that the Apple Pay service will be provided by Visa Europe and not Visa in France and Switzerland. This will allow secure and reliable payments with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE and Apple Watch in stores in the region that accept Visa cards and contactless payments.

Other players such as Global Payments Inc. (GPN - Free Report) support the Apple Pay application in the U.S. U.K. Canada, Singapore and China.  American Express Co. (AXP - Free Report) also offer Apple Pay in Canada.

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