TD Bank Adopts Visa’s Tokenization Tech for Mobile Payments [u]

TD Bank has announced it is Canada’s first financial institution to adopt Visa’s tokenization technology for mobile payments, launching within the TD app for Android. Tokenization creates a secure and unique one-time code when paying at retailers, instead of revealing your credit card details.

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Rizwan Khalfan, Chief Digital Officer, TD, said in a press release “We continually look for opportunities to elevate the digital experience for our customers,” adding “The adoption of Visa’s tokenization solution allows us to deliver a faster, simpler, and more accessible mobile payments experience, backed by a secure technology developed by a global leader in payments.”

Derek Colfer, Head of Technology and Digital Innovation, Visa Canada, said “We congratulate TD on this significant milestone,” while the “Visa Token Service provides a secure environment for mobile commerce, allowing consumers to shop seamlessly and with confidence using their devices.”

Tokenization means an NFC SIM card is not required to make a mobile payment, as seen in TD Bank’s existing complex mobile payment solution, which is tied to carriers such as Rogers, TELUS and Bell, and specific smartphone models.

TD says to use this mobile payment method within their Android app, a personal credit card and a smartphone running Android Kit Kat (4.4) or higher is required. An Android widget is also available for quick access to the mobile payments feature of the app.

The move could signal Apple Pay support is on the horizon, as tokenization is the cornerstone of the latter’s mobile wallet. MasterCard’s 2016 roadmap reportedly leaked last week, which noted Canadian Apple Pay support was coming. Just over a week ago, Interac announced the launch of their token service for mobile payments, supported by Canada’s credit unions.

TD Canada Trust currently offers customers the choice of 17 various credit cards, with 16 of them being Visa and one MasterCard option.

If there’s a Canadian bank set to support Apple Pay, TD Bank is an obvious choice, as the latter already supports the mobile wallet in the U.S., plus the company’s website last fall prematurely leaked support for the service. CIBC’s Apple Pay terms of service have also appeared for some iPhone users, a sign they may also support the mobile wallet soon.

Apple Pay launched in Canada back in November for American Express-issued cardholders, and is so much fun to use in stores.

Update: When we reached out to TD Bank for comment on when iOS customers would get access to tokenization, a spokesperson would only say “The Visa tokenization service capability is connected to our mobile payments feature, which is only available on the TD app for Android.”

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