Visa invests in dotMobi

Visa has invested an undisclosed amount in Dublin-based mobile domain name registry dotMobi.

dotMobi has registered 450,000 .mobi domain names since launching last year, including one for this very site. Now the payments giant has deemed it worthy to contribute a sum as it looks to ramp up its mobile commerce efforts.

At the CTIA Wireless conference in Orlando last week, Visa USA CEO John Philip Coghlan said the convergence of mobile and payments was "inevitable".

dotMobi's 13 backers already include Google, Microsoft and major mobile networks. The registry provides tips for publishers to adapt their sites to mobile devices.

In a trial, Visa recently began delivering coupons and offers via SMS messages.

The company has also been working with members of the GSM Association on technology that allows individuals to send money to each other's bank accounts using their mobile for over-the-air transactions.

The standard would be best used by expatriates to send money back home to families in the developing world, Visa says.

Patrick Gauthier, senior vice president of innovation with Visa International said:

"Visa’s strategic alliance with dotMobi puts us at the forefront of working with mobile operators and technology providers to develop practical and achievable best practices for the delivery of enhanced mobile commerce services."

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