Visa, the global payments technology company, has announced that by mid-2017 mVisa, its mobile QR-based payment service, will be available to merchants and consumers in Egypt, a press statement read. mVisa brings the benefits of easy and secure digital commerce to financial institutions, merchants, and consumers in emerging markets, which will help the global move into cashless transactions. According to the press release, mVisa will facilitate the overcoming of merchant infrastructure issues as it allows consumers to use their mobile phones to make cashless purchases at merchant outlets by scanning a QR code, pay bills remotely, and even send money to friends and family members by securely linking their Visa debit, credit, or prepaid account to the mVisa application. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced in December 2016 the approval of new regulations and customer due diligence procedures for mobile payments by the Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit. The decision was praised by Moody's Investors Service. Small merchants who used mVisa for the first time expressed their excitement about how quickly and securely they received the electronic payments, without investing into the costly point-of-sale (POS) infrastructure. Their view was shared with customers as well, who appreciated the ease of use and quickness of the service, said Uttam Nayak, senior vice president of Emerging Products Digital, Visa Inc. mVisa is an agile solution that allows merchants around the world to immediately accept digital payments from their customers. The flexible nature of QR codes, in addition to the fact that merchants do not need to invest in POS infrastructure, has allowed Visa and its partners to offer inventive solutions that eliminate friction for consumers who want and need to pay for goods and services around the world.
