At the Consumer Electronic Show in January, Visa International announced a mobile platform initiative that would lay the foundation for mobile payment solutions based on near field communications and featuring electronic coupon redemption and bar code transfer capabilities. At CTIA in March, the company announced that Ecrio and VeriSign would be two of its primary partners and that trials would begin this year. Today, Visa said it has teamed with Wells Fargo & Co. to launch of an extensive mobile pilot to test consumer mobile payments and services.

The three-phased pilot will test secure, over-the-air delivery of payment account information to the mobile device; mobile payments in stores and restaurants accepting Visa payWave technology; receiving and redeeming mobile coupons; and account management services.

The companies completed the first phase of the pilot with a group of employees in April in the Wells Fargo Customer Experience Research Lab. They expect to launch the second phase this summer with 30 to 50 Wells Fargo employees testing mobile payments at merchants that accept Visa payWave-enabled products. The third phase will include a public trial with 300 to 500 Wells Fargo Visa cardholders. Its launch is planned for the fourth quarter and will include additional pilot partners.

The Visa Mobile Platform includes technology from handset manufacturers, chip suppliers, mobile applications developers, over-the-air (OTA) service providers and mobile messaging providers. It is designed to deliver a consumer-friendly application that integrates mobile, contactless payments, remote payments, person-to-person payments, mobile coupons, and account management services.

For its part, Wells Fargo was the first major bank in the U.S. to offer mobile banking nationwide after it launched wireless banking in 2001. The company also is piloting other approaches including mobile browsers, SMS or text messaging and downloadable applications.

The company introduced its CEO Mobile service in April. This service delivers key treasury reports through a secure browser session. Wells Fargo plans to add more functions later in the year, including wire approvals and image positive pay exceptions.