Google Pay now available for Swiss Visa cardholders

• The launch of Google Pay for Swiss Visa cardholders now enables mobile payment with Android* devices at all contactless payment terminals.
• Practically all payment terminals in Switzerland are equipped with the contactless functionality. 

Zurich, 30 April 2019 - With the launch of Google Pay for Swiss Visa cardholders, Android device smartphones* - no matter which provider - can now be used for contactless mobile payment worldwide. Visa's tokenisation technology enables Visa cardholders to pay securely using their smartphones and other smart devices at payment terminals. For Visa cardholders in Switzerland, Google Pay is available through the card issuers Cornèrcard and BonusCard. The app offers a fast, simple and secure way to pay digitally with a Visa card via Android devices - at the point of sale (POS), online or in an app.

Stefan Holbein, Country Manager of Visa Switzerland, comments: "We are delighted to enable Swiss Visa cardholders to access Google Pay for the first time. Now all of the locally leading mobile payment providers are present in Switzerland. The main reasons are certainly the innovative drive of the local banks, the high density of smartphones and the dense and modern network of payment terminals in Switzerland".

How Visa technology protects consumers and merchants alike

Since the Visa card simply goes into the smartphone, consumers enjoy the same protection as when paying with their physical Visa card. Visa transactions with Google Pay are protected by several layers of security, including the Visa Token Service (VTS). It replaces the classic card number with a special digital token. When making a payment, only the token is transferred to the merchant instead of the actual card data in order to authorize the payment. For example, tokens help prevent fraud in e-commerce and m-commerce transactions by keeping sensitive card data out of the payment process.

Tokens can be restricted to transactions with a specific mobile device. If the smartphone is stolen or lost, Visa can immediately disable the token stored on it based on the information provided by the bank. The Visa card does not need to be blocked and replaced.

"Speed and ease of use are the main advantages of mobile payments. Security also plays an important role. With our Token Service, we make every transaction via smartphone just as secure as a normal payment with a Visa card," continues Stefan Holbein.

More comfort for the consumer

In addition to security, Google Pay offers consumers other functions.These functions include an overview of recent transactions, including detailed information about the merchant (e.g. location, web link and contact information, if available). With a simple wipe, one of the deposited cards can become the standard payment card. With Google Pay, the smartphone always automatically uses the selected default card.

To take advantage of the new service, Android users with NFC-enabled devices running OS 5.0 or later can download the Google Pay app from the Google Play Store. Consumers with cards from participating banks can then easily deposit their cards in the wallet. Here you can download the Google Pay app from the Google Play Store.

*Google Pay supports Android users with NFC-enabled devices running OS 5.0 or later.