American Express intros virtual wallet
With Serve, the company says, customers can send and receive money, pay bills, or make digital purchases through a cloud-based peer-to-peer network.
For now, Serve supports iOS and Android operating systems, though a BlackBerry app is on the way, says Dan Shulman, head of enterprise growth at American Express.
American Express claims Serve is aimed at customers who use cash, cheques and debit cards, rather than the company's traditional credit card users, according to CNN Money.
Serve accounts will be available immediately in the US and are expected to roll out internationally over the coming year.
Research firm Generator Research expects mobile payments to reach $633 billion annually by 2014, with 490 million customers using them.
Visa released a similar personal payment capability in the US on 16 March, states Computerworld.
Analysts say the moves by Visa and American Express are clearly aimed at taking on PayPal in the personal payments business.
Share