Retail in Asia

In Trends

Dah Sing Bank to launch first mobile POS service in Hong Kong

Dah Sing Bank is set to launch the first mobile POS service for credit card payment with Visa in Hong Kong in Q1 2013, the organization said recently. 

While Swish provides a mobile app and mobile point-of-sales (mPOS) terminals that merchants can plug into iPhones, Dah Sing Bank’s Pay@Mobile service will allow smaller retailers and on-the-go service providers such as insurance agents, logistics firms, cash-on-delivery businesses and merchants at exhibitions an alternative way to accept payment, the bank said.

“While the app is free for merchants, the cost of an mPOS is only one-tenth of that of a regular POS used in stores,” said Phoebe Wong, the bank’s executive director and head of Retail Banking Division. “And it works with both magnetic stripe and chip-embedded credit cards.”

According to her, while iPhone is the only smartphone supported at the moment, devices running other mobile OSes could be included in the future after they go through a security certification process, said Lilian Chong, head of Card Business, Retail Banking Division of the bank.

To complete a transaction process, a merchant logs into the mobile payment app and swipes or inserts a credit card using the mPOS terminal. A cardholder will then sign on the merchant’s phone using either a stylus or a finger, and opt to get a receipt via email or SMS or both ways, Wong noted.

All credit card information is held on secure servers and encrypted using SSL technology, she pointed out. “No cardholder and transaction information is made available to or retained by a mobile device at any point,” she said.

The mPOS can also be used in restaurants, karaoke bars, or any shops where customers can pay without waiting in lines and having their cards out of their sight during the transaction process, she added.

Dah Sing Insurance — a subsidiary of Dah Sing Financial Holdings — will be the first user of the service, according to the bank.

Similar mobile POS services have also been introduced in the US, Thailand, Russia, The Philippines, and India, with many of the adopters being insurance firms, said Corbin Sun, head of Acceptance, North Asia, Visa.