A new collaboration between payment company Visa and chip maker Intel aims to increase security for payments made via connected devices — from personal computers and mobile devices, to intelligent appliances and wearable technologies.
The two companies said last week that there is a growing need for sophisticated privacy and security controls that deliver simplicity, interoperability and convenience.
Intel and Visa plan to work together to integrate data security solutions into Intel chipsets to help device manufacturers build more secure payment functionality into their products. The collaboration will focus on encryption and authentication technologies.
“The rise of connected devices will rapidly expand the platforms we use to shop and pay. It will also open up new entry points for hackers,” said Mark Nelsen, senior vice president of risk and authentication products at Visa. “Tackling this security challenge requires a new level of coordination between players in payments, technology and computing. Working with Intel, we’re ensuring that the next generation of payment devices have security hardwired at the ground level.”
In a separate announcement, Visa revealed it is opening the Visa Checkout platform to card issuers, digital wallets and payment app providers, allowing them to integrate the secure payment service into digital wallets for online payments.
Google’s Android Pay is the first partner to sign up.
“With this partnership, Android Pay and Visa Checkout will deliver a frictionless purchase experience at thousands of online merchants that support Visa Checkout,” commented Pali Bhat, global head of payments products for Google.
“As more connected devices proliferate across the market and become part of our everyday lives, Visa is ensuring secure and easy payments can be embedded in any environment,” added Jim McCarthy, executive vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa.
