Mobile Payment Magazine

Will Facebook Disrupt Mobile Payment Business?

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Facebook may be seeing positive cashflow and excellent rates of growth, but it’s also dismally unprofitable considering the size of its user base. That gives it the impetus for an all-out mobile payments push. It’s already primed for success: with about 100 million active users in the U.S., it already reaches about half the population between ages 15 and 64, and it already has those users accustomed to using their Facebook credentials all over the Web. Its Facebook Connect portable gateway technology has already been adopted by 80,000 websites, says Facebook, including giants like MySpace and YouTube.

But other players are trying to wrest the payments market from Facebook’s sleepy grasp. American Express just spent $300 million buying online payments startup Revolution Money Inc., a pet project of AOL founder Steve Case. Nokia spent $70 million on its Obopay stake, and venture-backed Boku acquired two smaller competitors this summer for an undisclosed sum.

via BNET.

Mobile Marketing & Technology Mobile Payments Conference: Jan. 26, 2011, New York

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Starts: Wednesday January 26, 2011 at 08:00AM EST
Ends: Wednesday January 26, 2011 at 04:00PM EST
Event Type: Conference
Region: Greater New York City Area
Location: The New Yorker Hotel
481 8th avenue & 34 Street
New York City, NY 10001 US
Price: $399.00
Website: Mobile Marketing and Technology
Industry: consumer services
Intended For: New business development, EVP, CIO, COO, CEO, CFO, Accounting, IT, Investment Banking, Analysts, VP, Strategic Planner, Finance,
Organization: Mobile Marketing and Technology.Com

Mobile Payments is designed as a one day conference examining the mobile payment systems business up and running in the U.S. market.

The U.S. mobile payments business is about to be unleashed and every participant in the retail payment ecosystem will be affected.

When business giants including; Visa, Mastercard, American Express, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, Barclays and Discover Financial Services are positioning to dominate the U.S. mobile payments business, the rest of the ecosystem, including retailers, banks, hardware and software suppliers, clearinghouses and users will be affected.

The conference will examine why the giants are moving now, the mobile payment systems business and how the ecosystem can develop and what is in it for participants in the ecosystem.

The conference will:

  • Explain why the mobile payments business is coming and what’s in it for you
  • Introduce the main contestants and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
  • Examine the ecosystem and the participants who might benefit or lose from the new mobile payments business

The event will include keynote addresses by major participants, plenary panels, and a “pitch me” program where ecosystem suppliers can briefly highlight the services they offer within the mobile payment ecosystem.

Interested in speaking contact – garykim.denver@gmail.com

Sponsorships and other questions please call – 602-315-8808

U.K.’s Premier Inn Launches New App for Booking Rooms via Smartphone

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The UK’s largest budget hotel chain, Premier Inn, just launched a new smartphone app that allows the company’s customers to book, check and manage their hotel bookings.

The app lets customers manage their booking from start to finish, and is available on iPhone, Android, Nokia and Blackberry smart phones. The app is free to download and will feature real-time availability of all 590 Premier Inn hotels, as well as the option to access photographs of every hotel and pinpoint them on a map.

Steve Conway, who leads innovation at Premier Inn, says “Premier Inn is the first budget hotel chain to produce an app that is available across all smart phones, helping to make us accessible to as many guests as possible whilst on the go. We aim to help guests with every aspect of their stay and the new app will give guests even more freedom to access or to make a hotel booking at any given time.”

Source: Premier Inn

How to Measure Mobile Campaigns

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In implementing mobile marketing campaigns, it’s important to understand the performance of the campaign and learn how to optimize campaigns for greater success.

Bango has released a new white paper–the fifth in a series on the subject. The paper provides information from experts on how to measure mobile campaigns.

There is an overview of the current mobile landscape, as well as:

  • The importance of measuring your mobile campaigns
  • How to measure your mobile campaigns and get the most accurate view
  • What you need to watch out for – hints and tips
  • What matters to you as an advertiser–Questions answered by experts in the field: Andrew French, Head of Sales at mobile advertising agency; Somo and Erin Mack McKelvey, Senior Vice President of Marketing at advertising network Millennial Media
  • How to analyze your data – Brian Morel, Strategic Account Director for Mobile at Yahoo! answers your questions

More: Information request – Bango.com.

Intuit to Offer Free GoPayment Mobile Payment Card Reader to Businesses

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Intuit plans to offer its GoPayment mobile payment service with a free credit card reader and no monthly service fees to business owners who sign up by mid-February.

“By offering a free card reader and no monthly service fees, we want to give more small businesses a head start in the New Year by enabling them to take mobile payments without any upfront investment,” said Chris Hylen, general manager of Intuit’s Payment Solutions division. “And this is just the beginning. We’ll introduce new ways all year long to help more small businesses get paid quickly and inexpensively using their favorite mobile devices.”

GoPayment is compatible with more than 40 popular mobile handsets and a range of credit card readers. This includes a free credit card reader from ROAM Data, which works on a variety of iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices, to make it easier for the cost-conscious new business owner to start taking mobile payments. There are also other robust, professional readers, including the new, sleek, form-fitting mophie credit card reader for the iPhone 4, for established businesses with higher processing volume. A list of supported devices is available at: www.gopayment.com.

Since GoPayment launched nearly two years ago, small businesses have processed nearly $80 million in mobile payments using the solution. And the mobile payments market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

“We expect the point-of-sale mobile payments market in the U.S. to grow to $55 billion by 2015, up from an estimated $1 billion in 2010,” said Gwenn Bézard of Aite Group. “Intuit is among the best-positioned providers to lead that market, because of its existing presence in acquiring, its accounting and personal finance solutions, and its trusted brand.”

Using GoPayment and a supported credit card reader, users can swipe and process credit cards within seconds instead of entering card data manually. Funds are then deposited into their bank account typically within two to three business days.

“GoPayment gets small business owners paid fast,” added Hylen. “We don’t have any arbitrary transaction caps that delay users from getting their money. Plus, we’re always there if you need us and have people available 24/7 to answer your questions so you don’t lose a sale.”

To save more time when processing payments, GoPayment includes customer-requested features such as the ability to create and sell from a list of frequently sold items, apply sales tax and send customized receipts via text and e-mail with a map of where the transaction took place.

For the more than 4 million small businesses that use QuickBooks, GoPayment can also sync transactions with recent versions of QuickBooks – both PC and Mac – to save time by reducing manual data entry.

The solution protects customer data throughout the payment process. Sensitive credit card data is never stored on the phone. In addition, card data is double encrypted – once via card reader and a second time via the GoPayment app.

GoPayment offers different discount rates and pricing plans depending on a business’s processing needs. Businesses that sign up for GoPayment before mid-February can get a free credit card reader while supplies last and choose one of the following pricing plans:

For lower or intermittent credit card processing volume:

  • No monthly service fee for businesses that sign up before mid-February; Discount rates: 2.7 percent for card swiped; 3.7 percent for both key entered and non-qualified transactions; $0.15 per transaction.

For higher credit card processing volume:

  • $12.95 monthly service fee; Discount rates: 1.7 percent for card swiped; 2.7 percent for key entered; and 3.7 percent for non-qualified transactions, such as corporate cards; $0.30 per transaction.

GoPayment has no long-term contracts, cancellation, gateway or set-up fees, and one account can enable up to 50 users. To receive the free offer, businesses must be a new Intuit Merchant Service customer and approved for an Intuit merchant account. Terms, conditions, pricing, features, service and support are also subject to change without notice.

More information: www.GoPayment.com.

Megapay and MJV Launch Brazil Mobile Payment Service

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Megapay, a division of Hong Kong based cloud computing giant Megaworld, in partership with MJV, a Brazilian company that combines technology services and mobile solutions, have launched a mobile payment services in the Brazilian market.

Using Megapay’s and MJV’s technologies, Megaworld’s Brazilian customers are now able to make payments for any Megaworld service via mobile phone by submitting their phone number to Megapay’s payment platform. The customers are securely authenticated through a web PIN sent to their mobile phone via SMS, allowing them to immediately enjoy unlimited access to Megaworld premium services. Megapay’s service allows Megaworld customers to use their mobile phones as wallets and brings Megaworlds services to more than 90% of the Brazilian population.

Megaworld’s growth in Brazil and the Latin American region has been phenomenal. Since 2005, Megaworld has experienced a 100% year on year growth in registered subscribers. Megaworld’s total client base in Brazil is almost 5 million registered subscribers with 13 million active in Latin America. Popular services include Megaupload, a leading player in cloud storage, as well as Megavideo, a video streaming site. Recent additions to the Megaworld portfolio include Megabox, a cloud-based music hosting and streaming service; Megapix, an online marketplace for stock photography and hosting of pictures; Megalive, an innovative broadcasting service that anyone can use.

Source: PRWeb

Jack Dorsey’s Square Mobile Payments Company Raises $27.5 Million in New Funding

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Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s mobile payments startup, called Square, is in the process of raising a new round of funding at a valuation of more than $200 million, according to TechCrunch. The online technology blog cites Square’s general manager Keith Rabois as indicating that Square raised $27.5 million in new funding, with Sequoia Capital leading the round.

TechCrunch says they’ve heard  that sources familiar with the matter say Square’s valuation in the round was approximately $240 million.

via TechCrunch

IQPC Mobile Commerce Conference: Jan 24-26, 2011 in San Francisco

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Event Details
IQPC Mobile Commerce Conference, January 24-26, 2011 at the Sheraton, Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, California.

Meeting Consumer Demands with Innovative Mobile Strategies and Payment Technologies

  • Introducing discussion forums on key mobile strategies:
  • How to think about mobile platforms as they relate to your business
  • Using mobile sites and opt-in options to build a customer database
  • Integrating m-Commerce in an e-Commerce enterprise to leverage your business
  • Using mobile coupons as a competitive advantage for your brand
  • How linking payment technologies and online commerce can create customer loyalty
  • Evaluating consumer acceptance and adoption of bank services via mobile
  • Choosing the right mobile platform for success

Who Will Attend

  • VP, Head, Director and Manager of:
  • Mobile Marketing
  • eCommerce/ mCommerce
  • Digital Marketing
  • Marketing

Schedule: Retailers
January 24, 2011
8:30 AM – 11:00 AM Workshop A: Developing an Effective Mobile Channel
11:30 AM – 2:00 AM Workshop B: Choosing the Right Mobile Payment Model to Suit your Business Goals
2:30 AM – 5:00 AM Workshop C: Services in the Connected World

Hotel Information

The Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf

2500 Mason Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-362-5500
Web: www.sheratonatthewharf.com

The excellent location of Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel puts you in the heart of San Francisco’s most popular neighborhood. You’ll be steps away from Pier 39,Ghirardelli Square, Alcatraz Island, and the world famous San Francisco Cable Car lines.

Group Rate-$139

Please identify you are part of the IQPC group to ensure the special rate.

Note that you are eligible for this rate three day prior and three days post the event – based on availability.

Reservations Telephone- (888) 627 – 7024

Please make your reservation before January 7, 2010 in order to ensure you are eligible for the group rate.

More information: IQPC Mobile Commerce.

How to Ensure Secure Smartphone Mobile Payments

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Whether you’re a consumer, developer or investor delving into mobile payments technologies for personal or professional use, There are a number of important factors to consider when evaluating mobile payment technologies in the coming year.

Here’s your cheat sheet for owning your mobile transaction financial health. Ensure that your credit card information is:

  • Only sent to the venue’s POS system, rather than passing through third party services
  • Only stored on your phone, where it’s safest, and not in the cloud
  • Always encrypted when it is sent to the POS system, where the transaction is taking place

Read the full article, via CNN.

Google to Launch Mobile Payment Service

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There are a number of companies getting involved in getting mobile phones to be able to make purchases and charge either your mobile phone bill or directly to your bank account.

Google is now planning to launch a new mobile payment service that will be based on Near Field Communication or NFC. This new service would provide the ability for people to make purchases with their mobile phones at retailers. To make a payment for the items being purchased, all a customers would have to do is wave their mobile phone or tap their mobile phone on a device at the register. These in store devices would also have the ability to slide a credit or debit card through them to make the purchase if not making a purchase with your mobile wallet.

via TechInsider.