Tourists attending the London 2012 Olympics won’t have to watch their wallets.
In fact, they won’t even need cash and credit cards; they can simply use phones and tablets to make quick and easy payments.
Along with prepaid and anonymous credit cards, visitors can use:
- Mobile payments and services: To make purchases, consumers select the payment icon on their device and hold it to a contactless payment terminal. They can manage their spending by checking account history and balances in real time.
- Mobile prepaid: This mobile-based product provides consumers with a global payment account. The account, created by Visa, lets them send and receive international payments, pay bills, top-up wireless minutes, and access ATMs.
Read: Canadian adopting mobile banking
“Electronic payments facilitate tourism and meet the needs of consumers on the go,” says Jim McCarthy, head of products at Visa.
Still, the main concern continues to be security; as more products are released, consumers must watch for scammers and hackers who troll networks.
To help, companies like Scam Detector have developed apps that provide information and tips centered around some the world’s most notorious financial scams. The free products reveal how fraud works, as well as how to spot and avoid numerous types of schemes.
Read:
Online challenge tests financial literacy
Online bandits targeting social media
Get ready for “virtual wallets”
Cashless society becoming reality
