Within the traditional card payment industry, the word 'Offline' is used to describe a situation in which a POS device is offline at the time; there is no internet connection. This means that an electronic transaction cannot be completed.
When ViA® talks about offline, we refer to actual OFFLINE PAYMENTS. At the time when the payment is made, there is no connection to any other system, network or device. These payment transactions are made with a pre-loaded, secure, offline wallet on a card or device.
When disasters happen, like tsunamis, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, blackouts, etc., online connectivity is lost. There is no way to pay for emergency supplies like water, food, or gas or transportation.
The ViA MiniPay™ device offers true and real OFFLINE payment transactions which are actually accepted and verified by a terminal in real time. The purchase can be completed on the spot, even when there is NO connection to any other system.