Technology

Brazilian Elo launches a feature for cell phones to receive contactless payments

Solution enables smartphones and tablets to receive contactless payments; first acquirer to offer Elo's solution in Brazil is the US Fiserv

Only 3.8% of the Brazilian cities have a developed payments ecosystem, shows an unprecedented study by Visa
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The Brazilian payment technology company Elo has launched a new feature that allow contactless payments on cell phones and tablets already enabled to operate as POS terminals. The B2B2C product is made available to acquirers, who then offer the solution to their customers. The first company to use the solution, called Tap On Phone, is the US acquirer Fiserv.

Tap On Phone is focused on small and medium-sized businesses and enables mobile devices with NFC technology to receive credit and debit payment transactions, including in installments.

With the app installed on the tablet or cell phone, merchants will be able to use their devices to make contactless payments using contactless Elo cards and digital wallets such as Google Pay and Apple Pay. The service can be used on any Android smartphone or tablet that has at least version 9.0 installed, NFC support, 3G or 4G chip, and wifi.

READ ALSO: Only 3.8% of Brazilian cities have a developed payment ecosystem, Visa study shows

According to Felipe Maffei, director of products and innovation at Elo, by adding the proximity payment function, the solution democratizes access to digital payments, besides expanding the acceptance of contactless payments throughout the country.

The Tap On Phone technology also has other functionalities, such as sending sales receipts via SMS or email, generating a complete daily sales report, and even reversing transactions.

For now, the technology is available for invited merchants and Fiserv partners that already use the company’s processing services, and that have already enabled mobile devices to work as POS terminals.

READ ALSO: Real-time payments grow larger in 2020; Brazil and Mexico are among the top 10 markets for instant transactions

Fiserv boosts its operations in Brazil

This week, Fiserv announced another partnership, this one with US bank Citi, which has a strong presence in Brazil, to offer acquiring services in the country through Citi’s payment platform, Spring, focused on the e-commerce segment. Spring centralizes all operations for online shopping, from a payment gateway to acquiring.

In April, Fiserv had already sealed an exclusive 20-year agreement with Caixa Econômica Federal to offer acquiring solutions and POS terminals. At the time, Caixa disclosed that the deal has a potential annual Total Payment Volume (TPV) of up to BRL 457 billion.

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