Mobile-payments solution firm LoopPay, whose technology allows users to pay via smart phones at most merchants’ existing point-of-sale systems, has an important new backer: Visa.
Unlike many of its competitors, LoopPay’s product does not require merchants to get a whole new set of hardware in order to accept mobile payments. LoopPay’s product uses a proprietary technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST), which uses a secure chip to store and transmit data to existing POS terminals through a small low-cost inductive loop that can be embedded in a variety of devices, smartphones included. LoopPay is also taking a two-way approach, both with software and hardware. Along with its own mobile wallet app, LoopWallet, which stores customers’ credit cards and loyalty cards.