Finally, Canadians can now get rid of the good old credit card. Well, at least that’s the dream.
Rogers and the local bank CIBC are partnering to make the dream of NFC mobile payments a reality for Canadians. The two companies announced an agreement to launch Suretap, the country’s first joint mobile payment solution, which will allow CIBC credit card holders to pay using their Rogers NFC-enabled smartphone.
Although Canada is somehow lagging in the tap-and-go payment wave as compared to the US and European countries, the launch of dedicated carrier-bank ventures is a significant step in making the wallet old news.
Partner to the launch event was the Tim Hortons cafes chain, where local Olympic triathlete Simon Whitfield purchased a cup of coffee using a Rogers BlackBerry smartphone, paired with a CIBC credit card account.
Okay, Rogers is able to sell the technology convincingly to me! But what is less convincing to me is the carrier’s loyalty to RIM. It is also surprising that with a host of amazing Android based NFC devices available, Rogers opted to jump on the sinking ship by rolling out the service exclusively on BlackBerry devices. It will be interesting to see the uptake of the service, as many customers are switching to iPhone and Android phones. No timelines were revealed, but the companies say that the Suretap service will be available for Android, WP, and other platforms.
So Canadians, are you willing to lighten your pockets to get this payment ability? Tell us what do you think of NFC-based payments. Are you excited? Skeptic?
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