Visa backs Android with payment alerts

Visa's NFC payment scheme with your mobile could be coming to the UK soon
Visa's NFC payment scheme with your mobile could be coming to the UK soon

The question that has hung over the Android OS so far: will the major brands get behind it? Well, an announcement from Visa seems to signal they've given it two thumbs up.

Visa is extending its scheme to include payment alerts to let you know when anything has been used on your card, and can even let you set a limit after which you have to use the handset to approve the transaction.

So don't leave your handset at home when you go out to buy that TV.

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In true location-based fun spirit, which is what Google looking for on its Android handsets, you can use the GPS to find out where the nearest cash point is with the application, and nearby vendors can send you special offers... which could get a tad annoying if you can't turn it off.

Also Visa is planning a new application that will further the use of near field communications (NFC) chips in the Nokia 6212 classic and other smartphones in the future.

The new application will help you pay for things using the contact-less system that's being used throughout London at the moment, and could be extended to the rest of the country in the future.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.