Visa International Introduces sound and animation to payments

In an industry first, Visa International today introduced a new animated logo with a unique sound designed to extend Visa`s brand in e-commerce, mobile commerce, and other emerging forms of payment beyond the point-of-sale.

The new animated logo and sound will signal that a Visa product is being used for payment over a PC, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or other types of devices where a physical payment card may not be present. It also will signal to the user that they can expect the same high level of convenience and security that a Visa product provides in the physical world.

"The sound and animation will increasingly be used as a navigational cue when face-to-face service is not possible in the transaction process," said Phil Hepworth, general manager: Visa sub-Saharan Africa, "It will ensure that our cardholders, not only in South Africa but, around the world, feel as safe, secure and confident in the virtual world as they do in the physical world when they`re using their Visa cards. The Visa-branded sound will be associated with the Visa brand exclusively to signal to our users that Visa is the best payment choice in this new world of u-commerce."

U-commerce, or "universal" commerce is Visa`s vision of an emerging payments future where commerce can be conducted anywhere, anytime, anyway, with a variety of new and emerging payment devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and set-top boxes.

"The challenge in today`s marketplace is to ensure that the Visa brand is present even when a Visa card is not," said Hepworth. "Extending the Visa brand promise within new payment environments - whether they be mobile phones or Web sites - will reinforce to our users that they can be confident Visa lets them do what they want, when and where they want."

In these new commerce channels, the Visa sound and the animated Visa brand acceptance logo (flag) will appear for approximately two seconds as a transaction is made, announcing that the consumer is in the Visa payment environment. The new sound and animation signals the speed, convenience and security associated with Visa`s brand. It uses sound design elements combined with a traditional melody that reflects the dynamic, contemporary character of the Visa brand.

One of Visa`s marketing partners, MedicinePlanetSM, Inc., will be the first USA based online company to incorporate the new Visa animation and sound into its payment process. "Visa`s u-commerce vision fits well with MedicinePlanet`s philosophy of providing access to healthcare anytime, anywhere," said Mark Pruzanski, MD, MedicinePlanet`s President and CEO. "As the pioneer in mobile health, MedicinePlanet is pleased to partner with another leader in the emerging wireless economy."

By visiting www.medicineplanet.com, travelers can learn about regional health alerts, precautions, outbreaks, common hazards, and immunization requirements. The company`s Mobile Medical NetworkSM provides real-time, location-specific, and personalized healthcare tools and services available through wireless devices.

The animation will continue to roll out in other emerging technology products and will ultimately be heard and seen in most markets worldwide in the next few years. Visa anticipates a wide spectrum of uses for the sound and animation ranging from pure brand expressions such as part of the sign-on to its Web site, www.visa.com, to being directly tied to the Visa payment experience.

The sound and animation for the Visa brand were created by AGENCY.COM, a leading e-business builder in global markets that offers its clients strategy, branding and technology services across all interactive channels. "Visa is a company that has demonstrated the vision needed to position itself at the forefront of e-commerce on mobile devices and AGENCY.COM is proud to be working with them to develop and implement interactive solutions for their next generation of business needs," said Chan Suh, Chairman and CEO of AGENCY.COM.

Sound and animation are frequently used as navigation cues in such areas as the telephone, the PC, and on television to support brands. "In the future, as technology replaces face-to-face interaction in environments where cards are not present, signaling what type of payment choice has been made will become very important," Hepworth concluded.