CIBC and Rogers Communications say they will allow Canadians to pay with their CIBC credit card at checkout counters later this year using a smartphone enabled with mobile payment technology.
Rogers said the mobile payments capability will be available on select BlackBerry smartphones in the coming months with additional devices later.
Also later this year, customers will be able to use this payment capability at retailers where contactless credit card payments are accepted.
Canada’s financial institutions announced guidelines on Monday for mobile payments that work with technology already in place.
Consumers will be able to tap and pay for small purchases like sandwiches, bread, milk and gas with smartphones.
The phones will have to be enabled with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, but analysts say widespread use is still a few years away.
“Canadians are embracing new technologies at an accelerated pace and we know they’re interested in using their smartphone for mobile payments,” Rob Bruce, president of communications at Rogers, said in a news release.
David Williamson, senior executive vice-president of retail and business banking at CIBC, said the bank is “pleased to introduce yet another innovation in the market that will shape the payments experience of the future.”
The Canadian Bankers Association has said the voluntary guidelines are designed to work with the same security standards used by chip-enabled credit and debit cards and existing wireless point-of-sale terminals at retailers.
Analysts have said only about 10% of new smartphones have the ability to make mobile payments but more are expected to enter the marketplace.
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