No stranger to the mobile space, Visa has released an Apple iPhone app which includes the ability for merchants to offer location-based deals.
The Visa Mobile iPhone app will offer discounts and other location-based deals from more than 50 merchants. The merchant will be able to tailor the offer for their customers and this actually includes places you might want to go – 24-Hour Fitness, Papa John’s Pizza, Cold Water Creek, Hard Rock Cafe and other locations.
The Visa Mobile iPhone app can also be used to find nearby ATMs and manage your account.
“Merchants are looking for new and more efficient ways to reach customers, while budget-conscious consumers expect a more rewarding and convenient shopping experience,” said Bill Gajda, Head of Mobile, in a prepared statement. “The Visa Mobile application meets the needs of both merchants and consumer and brings one of the most trusted brands in payments to the iPhone.”
The payment giant is just the latest company trying to get into the location-based services area, as companies like Foursquare, Gowalla and Latitude have made it hip to share your location. Even Facebook has jumped into the check-in game with its Facebook Places.
Deals will play into many of these check-in services, as this could be the holy grail for advertisers because you already know where the potential customer is. A company like shopkick is building its business on this process, as it is a mobile app which rewards users for physically being inside retail stores like Best Buy.
Facebook is also expected to make a big push with its location-based service, as the world’s largest social network has launched a deals platform which lets local merchants give discounts to users who check in. I’ve yet to really see a good deal on this platform yet, so it looks like this will take some time to catch on.
[Via Visa]