Visa and Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday, May 9, that Samsung's latest smartphone innovation, the Galaxy S3, will serve as Samsung's Olympic Games Phone during the London 2012 Games.

Samsung and Visa sponsored athletes and trialists will receive a limited edition showcase device enabled with Visa PayWave, Visa's mobile payment application, so they can make purchases simply by waving the device at thousands of retail locations throughout London. Samsung's Olympic Games phone comes equipped with NFC (near field communication) payment capability. The move is part of the two global Olympic Games Sponsors' effort to push the availability of commercial mobile payments across the world.

Ideal Device

"Mobile payment services enabled by NFC technology are gaining momentum around the world," said DJ Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing team of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business, as cited by Market Watch. "The Samsung GALAXY S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind and is the ideal device to showcase the ease and convenience of Visa's mobile payment application at the London 2012 Olympic Games."

More than 140,000 contactless terminals will be in place around the UK by the time the Olympic Games begin. From the moment visitors arrive they will dive into an impressive contactless payment experience for any purchase or payment, from taxi rides to retail outlets or the Olympic Park. London 2012 Games partner Lloyds TSB will support and enable the showcase device in the UK.

'The Future is Mobile'

"Mobile technology has long been a revolutionary force in our lives and NFC-enabled devices such as the Galaxy S III will fundamentally change the way we pay," said Sandra Alzetta, Senior VP of Mobile at Visa Europe. "The future is mobile and cash usage will only continue to decline as people use their mobile devices to manage their money, shop and pay. This summer our partnership with Samsung will showcase all the advantages of the future of payments: security, convenience, speed and flexibility being forefront among them."

"The GALAXY S III with NFC technology is part of an evolution that will entirely change the way people shop, pay and get paid all over the world," concurred Bill Gadja, Visa's Global Head of Mobile Products. "This summer we will be demonstrating the future of payments in London - a future where most consumers will rely on mobile devices, tablets and PCs to manage their daily financial lives. Our relationship with Samsung gets us closer to that vision, with a stunning new device that is sure to turn heads at the London 2012 Games."

Visa PayWave

Using the Visa PayWave for mobile application, users can simply select the Visa icon on their mobile device and wave the phone to a contactless payment terminal to make a purchase. Users can also check their transaction history and view their account balance. For purchases that exceed £20 customers will have to enter a passcode.

Samsung is the Worldwide Olympic Partner for Wireless Communications Equipment, while Visa is the Worldwide Olympic Partner and exclusive payment services sponsors. Through this partnership, the two global sponsors will demonstrate the new payment innovation with the Samsung Galaxy S3 in the Olympic Village and across London for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)