Visa Cash is a
smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...
electronic cash
Electronic cash was, until 2007, the debit card system of the German Banking Industry Committee, the association that represents the top German financial interest groups. Usually paired with a transaction account or current account, cards with ...
system, implemented as a
stored-value card
A stored-value card (SVC) is a payment card with a monetary value stored on the card itself, not in an external account maintained by a financial institution. This means no network access is required by the payment collection terminals as funds ...
owned by
Visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
.
Trialled in various locations worldwide (including Leeds, UK in 1997), the system works via a 'chip' embedded in a bank card, and looks similar to the so-called '
Chip and PIN Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...
' cards issued, among other countries, in Europe. Another early trial was performed in conjunction with the World Ski Championship in Trondheim, Norway in late February 1997. Several different cards were issued, with loaded face values of 200, 250, 400 and 600 NOK. The cards expired Aug 97.
The card is 'loaded' with cash via specialized ATMs, and the cash can later be 'spent' by inserting the card into the retailer's card-reader and pressing a button to confirm the amount. Neither PIN entry nor a signature is required, which makes for a speedy transaction for the card's owner.
Other competing cashless payment systems for micro-payments (small amounts) include
Mondex
Mondex was a smart card electronic cash system, implemented as a stored-value card and owned by Mastercard.
Pioneered by two bankers from NatWest in 1990, it was spun-off to a separate consortium later on, then sold again to Mastercard.
Mon ...
.
A more successful smart card electronic cash system is the
Octopus card system in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
See also
*
Digital wallet
A digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet, is an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party bartering digital currency units for goods and services. This ca ...
*
Mondex
Mondex was a smart card electronic cash system, implemented as a stored-value card and owned by Mastercard.
Pioneered by two bankers from NatWest in 1990, it was spun-off to a separate consortium later on, then sold again to Mastercard.
Mon ...
*
Dexit (corporation)
*
Octopus card
*
OnePulse
OnePulse was the name given to a credit card that was issued by Barclaycard that combined the functionality of Transport for London's Oyster card with a Visa contactless-enabled credit card. Barclaycard OnePulse was launched in early September 2 ...
*
Oyster card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
*
T-money(visacash Korea)
External links
VisaCash.orga website dedicated to saving the history of the Visa Cash card program.
Payment systems
Smart cards
Visa Inc.
Stored-value payment card
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