Items tagged with payment
When it comes to mobile payments, security is an obvious concern. In fact, even the more standard forms of payment are facing all sorts of new security issues these days. In a bid to help things, MasterCard and Syniverse have partnered to test out a new mobile payment methodology that would tap into a phone's GPS in order to approve or deny a given purchase. The news was revealed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The two companies are currently in pilot-phase for an opt-in service that will enable card transactions for users only when they have their mobile device switched on in a specific geolocation abroad. This service aims to reduce consumers’ frustrations associated with having...
Read more...
As far as rewards programs go, Starbucks has one of the least attractive on offer. Frequent hotel dwellers and airline goers have been pretty upset lately by point devaluations that are ruffling through the industry, but Starbucks gives loyal drinkers next to nothing for stopping in on a daily basis. Clearly, that's not hurting sales. The coffee giant still seems to be pulling customers in left and right, and while you'd think it would have to offer something fairly amazing to get people to pay using their phone, that evidently is not the case. Mobile payments on the whole have struggled in the United States. Google Wallet has been all but a dud, and while Square is doing well, that still involves...
Read more...
When it comes to mobile payments, it's really just a matter of "when." It's obvious that it's happening, and it's catching on (albeit slowly) around the globe. The specifics have to be worked out, and there's still a lot of work to be done in terms of partnerships, but we're slowly but surely moving towards a society that pays for everyday goods with their phone. MasterCard and ING, two huge names in the financial industry, have today announced a joint trial underway in the Netherlands that is demonstrating a new way to pay online using mobile phones. The trial extends the functionality of the Mobile MasterCard PayPass application, already used to support contactless payments at point of sale,...
Read more...
Your friendly neighborhood Walmart may be getting even closer to "getting with the times." And in fact, surging beyond them. To date, few stores have really, truly embraced mobile payments. And perhaps even fewer have even considered smartphone integration with the buying process. But the mega-retailer Walmart is reportedly testing a new system that could enable shoppers to scan items as they browse using an iPhone, and then pay at a self-checkout counter based on what they've scanned in the store. It's a shifting of the process; today, the self-checkout lane makes you scan everything as you exit, but it'd go much faster if you scanned as you shopped. The idea is obviously being considered in...
Read more...
Paying for things with a traditional credit card may feel normal today, but what's it going to feel like in 20 years? 30? Will those thin slips of plastic still be around? Mobile payments haven't exactly skyrocketed to mainstream success, particularly in the United States, but it seems that the trends are changing. With Google Wallet, Isis, Square, NFC and all sorts of other technologies in the mobile payment space finally getting their wings, we could be in for a sea-change that will completely disrupt how we pay for goods. Following news of Starbucks and Square teaming up, the Electronic Transactions Association, the trade association of the global electronic payments industry, today launched...
Read more...
Coughing up money ain't what it used to be. Square, the mobile payment upstart that has revolutionized the way small business owners with iPads and iPhones accept payments, has just announced a new feature that should bring merchants and customers even closer. It's interesting how Square has seemingly added a pinch of emotion to a typically emotionless transaction, but it's indicative of the times we live in, and the technology available to us. The news here is a couple of new features for Square Register and Pay with Square, which intend to "deepen the relationship between buyers and sellers." Square allows business owners to create rewards programs that both attract new customers and make existing...
Read more...
Mobile payments -- or, at least the idea of mobile payments -- aren't new. In fact, America is one of the last nations to get onboard, despite having millions of smartphone owners. Square was first to jump on this bandwagon three or so years ago, providing smartphone owners with a free, small dongle that enabled a credit card swipe to be registered into a phone or iPad and processed; it made small business easy again. PayPal has been handling online payments, and obviously, it feels that there is room for one more player in the mobile payment industry. Thus, the company launched Here. PayPal Here is a new triangular dongle that effectively does the same thing as Square, but with slightly fewer...
Read more...
Verizon Wireless and Intuit are making it easier for small businesses to accept credit card payments using smartphones or tablets with the introduction of Intuit’s GoPayment app and pocket-sized credit card reader. The card reader plugs into the audio jack of supported smartphones and tablets. You can then swipe a credit or debit card through the reader or enter information manually into the app. GoPayment supports select Android, BlackBerry, and iOS devices. Various pricing options for both the credit card reader and a GoPayment account are available. Your Smartphone Or Tablet Now Takes Plastic: Verizon Wireless And Intuit Team Up To Offer GoPayment; Mobile Credit Card Processing For Small...
Read more...
Rather than using cash or a typical credit card, many tech-savvy consumers are relying on something very different to make payments these days: contactless payment solutions. While NFC has grabbed the lion's share of the hype surrounding this movement, there are actually quite a few options when it comes to "tap-to-pay." Serve, by American Express, is Verizon Wireless' new approach to the payment method, and will soon be integrated on wireless phones and tablets. Serve is listed as a next-generation digital payment and commerce platform, and in the coming months it will hit "select" devices on their network. Over the coming months, Verizon Wireless customers will be able to establish Serve...
Read more...
What's needed to really get people hooked on contactless payments? Lots and lots of industry support. Google Wallet has set the bar for what's possible with NFC in the smartphone, and now Visa is making a play to expand their own reach for when the time comes to take advantage. The company recently acquired South African firm Fundamo, with the purchase costing Visa a staggering $110 million. Separately, a 5-year deal with UK-based Monitise will help it "grow the new technology-enabled payments business." Since Visa's currently outside of the Google Wallet loop (and instead is taking part in ISIS), they'll need as much support as they can get in order to go up against the monster. The Fundamo...
Read more...
All the rage in the mobile payment space has centered around NFC, but there's a new game in town, now. Well, at least in Utah. Isis, which is described as a mobile commerce joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, has just announced plans to pilot a payment program in Salt Lake City in early-to-mid 2012. It's rare to see these three rival carriers work together on anything, but we're sure having a unified system would benefit their wallets equally well. Isis has also entered into an agreement with Utah Transit Authority (UTA) to make the entire UTA transit system Isis-enabled, marking the deployment of Isis as the first commercially available mobile transportation...
Read more...
It took a really long time to get popular here in the United States, but mobile payments are finally starting to take off. Other nations, particularly in Asia, have been using similar techniques for years to pay for groceries and subway rides, but near-field communication (NFC) has taken a great deal of time to mature here. Now, Google is obviously looking to get into the game. The Google-powered Nexus S is one of the first smartphones in the States to have an embedded NFC chip, and this week The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company will be joining Citi Group and MasterCard in order to "embed technology in Android mobile devices that would allow consumers to make purchases by waving...
Read more...
Is RIM gearing up with a fight with carriers regarding mobile payments? That's the latest on the street, and based on the facts, we too agree that a battle is in store. The reason? Money, as always. As NFC chips become more and more popular, mobile payments are set to boom in North America. Near Field Communication is a widely used technology in other parts of the world, but it's just now starting to blossom in the U.S. The dispute is apt to happen between handset makers like RIM and carriers; the carriers have been fighting for years to not become "dumb pipes." Apple is already exploiting AT&T and Verizon Wireless by allowing iPhone users to tap into their networks to download apps. Basically,...
Read more...
It's finally happening. Well, maybe we should rephrase that. It's finally happening in America. NFC payments, as well as other contactless options, have been all the rage in places like Japan for years now, with many cellphones having these chips embedded in them, enabling consumers to pay for metro rides and groceries with a swipe of their handset. It's a brilliant idea that would greatly simplify life for those sick and tired of fiddling with credit cards. But for whatever reason, the concept has had a very difficult time taking hold in North America. Finally, it seems that's changing. The Samsung-built Nexus S is the first major smartphone in this market with a built-in NFC chip, and it looks...
Read more...
