Visa has signed an agreement with leading mobile commerce provider ROAM, an Ingenico company, to enable merchants of all sizes to accept electronic payments using mobile technology.

The companies aim to displace cash payments by expanding the reach of electronic payments to new merchant categories, and by making it easier for merchants and acquirers to take advantage of secure mobile acceptance solutions.

ROAM is a leading provider of mobile acceptance technology, delivering hardware peripherals, applications, and services that enable merchants to realize the benefits of electronic commerce.

As part of the agreement with Visa, ROAM will participate in the Visa Ready Partner Program and has agreed to bundle its mobile point-of-sale hardware peripherals with Visa’s acceptance solutions to offer merchants globally a cost-efficient and secure way to accept card payments.

“Displacing cash payments with the security and efficiency of electronic payments continues to be a primary driver of growth for the global payments industry,” says Jim McCarthy, global head of Product, Visa.

“Visa, through its mPOS partner program, is committed to accelerating the use of mobile technology to enable merchants worldwide to accept Visa payments. Our agreement with ROAM will help us reach that goal globally.”

The growing popularity of mobile point-of-sale acceptance solutions among merchants of all sizes is helping to drive the migration from cash to electronic payments, a trend that can benefit consumers and businesses globally.

A study released by Moody’s earlier this month revealed that the expanded use of credit and debit cards added $983 billion to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2008 and 2012 - the equivalent of creating 1.9 million new jobs.

“We are enthused to be collaborating with Visa and believe that the complementary strengths of our respective offerings will help drive the proliferation of mobile commerce acceptance throughout the world,” said Ken Paull, CEO of ROAM. “Security is a primary focus for us at ROAM and we fully embrace the Visa Ready Partner Program as a way to identify the differentiation of our mag stripe and EMV solutions.”

Visa’s agreement with ROAM, which is Visa’s first under the Visa Ready Partner Program, aims to displace cash globally, and is designed to enable growth of Visa acceptance and usage in key geographies and merchant segments worldwide.

During Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, February 25-28, the two companies will offer mobile point-of-sale acceptance demonstrations using a ROAM mobile acceptance device. – TradeArabia News Service