SEOUL-The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) presented its vision for new wireless point and pay financial transactions at a press conference in San Francisco, April 4.

According to the IrDA, member companies representing a cross section of global enterprises, including Visa International, Cross-Check and Ingenico, showcased live demonstrations of E-Wallent.

At the same time, IrDA also announced the forthcoming IrFM (Infrared Financial Messaging) profile and protocol specification which defines payment usage models, profile and protocol layers to enable hardware, software and systems designers to develop IrFM compliant products and ensure interoperability and compatibility on a worldwide basis.

It said the point and pay demonstrations showed financial transactions with credit, debit or checking account data being sent via IrDA interface from devices like Palm handhelds or mobile phones to an IrDA enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminal or a vending machine.

Users simply bean their financial information to make a payment and receive a digital receipt. This is the first application in the financial industry that provides two-way digital communications between the customer and the merchant.

With the two-way technology, the consumer not only provides the payment but can also send or receive digital receipts and coupons or loyalty cards providing the merchant with targeted one to one marketing opportunities.