Astro subscribers in Malaysia can soon shop for and have merchandise delivered to them in the comfort of their own homes via the use of their chip-based credit cards under the TV-commerce option of their Astro decoders. The satellite TV operator and Visa International Asia Pacific are believed to be in the midst of finalising the service to launch the hassle-free and secured-payment shopping option in the near term. The TV commerce options, including the home shopping feature, will soon follow the world’s first-of-its-kind interactive TV shopping coupons that were launched on Nov 18 by Astro, Visa and Public Bank. These and other features to be introduced by Astro are believed to be part of its efforts to sustain growth. It will receive revenue from participating merchants. Visa country manager for Malaysia Jeffrey Perera said TV commerce was the second phase of interactive TV in Malaysia as it would allow viewers to make purchases using Visa credit cards on a secured payment system. He said one of the potential benefits was that viewers could have their purchases delivered to their doorsteps after making their payments using their credit cards via the Astro decoder. The Astro decoder is equipped with a second smart card reader slot, into which the credit card could be inserted to undertake the TV commerce transaction. Astro chief operating officer David Butorac said the interactive TV coupons launched on Nov 18 were a prelude of more exciting things to come. For the moment, the interactive TV features do not support financial transactions. Participating merchants offering the TV coupons would be able to influence the purchasing decisions of over 1.7 million Astro households even before they left their homes. The coupons, which are exclusively offerred by participating merchants, could be redeemed at the respective outlets. Full article The Edge Daily