Mobile Payment Magazine

Mobile payments startup Clinkle nabs $25M in early investments | Internet & Media – CNET News

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Young entrepreneur Lucas Duplan said his startup, Clinkle, has figured out a way for people to pay for things in a physical store without using cash or credit card. And, it doesn’t require a mobile card reader, the hardware popularized by payments company Square.

“No one has really cracked the nut,” Duplan said, adding that none of the apps currently available can really help people leave their physical wallets behind. He leaves the door open for other benefits, like how to use consumer’s shopping habit data to create other features. [Read more…]

Three Reasons Your Business Needs to Accept Mobile Payments

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The Internet has clearly made it easier for small businesses to be successful and reach customers. Being able to start and maintain a business without the need for an expensive brick-and-mortar storefront has provided the catalyst for small businesses to grow much faster, reach customers, make a profit, and become medium-sized businesses. However, the electronic age is changing again, and now customers are moving more towards mobile devices, managing their finances and purchasing items on-the-go versus sitting at a desktop computer. As a result, check out these 3 reasons why your business needs to accept mobile payments now.

Mobile devices have become far more popular in the last three years, exploding in use throughout the population. As a result, these devices have also made it possible for owners to do far more in the way of electronic activities, similar to what they could manage on a desktop computer. Either through an Internet Web page or a mobile app, users are figuring out what works for them to manage life’s needs and wants, including buying items. A small business that relies on online customers who are also up-to-date with different technologies for revenue management can’t ignore this fact and growing trend.

Specifically, there are 3 reasons your business needs to accept mobile payments:

  1. Mobile users and their apps will overtake computers within a year or two. Mobile devices are extremely prevalent and the apps available for them are getting better by the month. As a result, more people are shifting their computer use to their mobile device and skipping the computer altogether. Businesses that want to retain these customers and add more of them need to be able to accept mobile payments. This can be done through website payment systems, mobile apps, and the same payment software that mobile device users access. Adding this capability to your business model now cuts down on costs when last-minute changes are needed immediately. Your business needs to accept mobile payments because eventually mobile may be the number one way people pay for goods and services. The change is happening fast.
  2. eCommerce is becoming more and more of a business standard like cash. There was a time when eCommerce made up a small portion of business revenue, especially for big businesses. Today, it can make up as much as half if not more for small businesses. Many small businesses realize up to 90 percent of their revenue online through electronic means. As a result, being able to accept mobile payments is simply another avenue small businesses need to offer to keep their market share of customers. With mobile payments rising over 42 percent in just the last four years, the method is here to stay and can’t be ignored. Your business needs to accept mobile payments because we live in an eCommerce world where people are on the go all the time.
  3. People are starting to expect that they can pay anywhere at any time with a mobile device. We are all tired of carrying around cash and dozens of credit cards everywhere we go. We want “easy” and “convenient” when it comes to just about everything. By accepting mobile payments from your customers, you are helping people achieve this.

In addition, society is thinking in a very “mobile context” now. For example, consumers are using mobile devices to find better pricing. Ever hear of the term “showrooming”? It occurs when a customer shows up at a retail store, examines a product, uses a mobile device to compare the price available at other stores, and then leaves to buy the product online. For retail stores this practice is almost a death-knell. To circumvent this problem, small businesses need to be present only so that their pricing and discounts are represented with the same information as online businesses. Otherwise, a small business is simply helping online businesses make sales by providing local samples without capturing any sales. Combining a mobile presence with mobile payment makes it easy for retail stores to undercut online stores, especially when shipping costs are taken into account. But if a business doesn’t play, it can’t compete, period.

There are many more reasons your business needs to accept mobile payments now, but the above three are the most critical. The retail world continues to change dramatically as new technologies become available and widespread. Small businesses like yours need to take advantage of these trends and stay on the front end of what consumers want. Doing otherwise simply means falling behind.

About the author:

Kristen Gramigna is Chief Marketing Officer for BluePay, providers of mobile payment processing for businesses. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the bankcard industry in direct sales, sales management, and marketing to the company and also serves on its Board of Directors.

U.S. Bank now letting customers snap photos of their bills for automatic mobile payment | The Verge

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By now, using your smartphone for check deposits has almost become old hat. U.S. Bank is looking to take the next step in conjoining gadgets and financial accounts with the launch of Mobile Photo BillPay. The feature, which the bank says is the first of its kind, lets customers snap a photo of a bill, after which all payment fields will automatically be populated with the proper information. The underlying technology has been developed by Mitek, with extracted data including the intended payee, address, account number and total amount due.

Read more, via The Verge.

Mobile Stocks to Watch: NVIDIA

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NVIDIA might seem like an odd choice for investors looking to profit from the mobile boom. After all, of all things, its bread-and-butter product is graphics processors found in PCs. How can a company reliant on PCs be anything but a sitting duck for the coming mobile revolution? In the case of NVIDIA, it’s not a sitting duck because the company saw a changing market and started adapting years before the competition.

Neither of NVIDIA’s direct peers foresaw a shift in technology the way NVIDIA did, yet NVIDIA gets lumped into the same basket as them, beaten down whenever negative PC news hits the presses. That’s a mistake that you can profit off. [Read more…]

Mobile Payment Potential is Really About … Coupons

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There’s been a lot of talk lately about mobile payments and how new apps or NFC technology will let you pay for things with your smartphone. But the truth is that this market is less about finding a new way for you to pay for things and more about offering you an easier way to carry and redeem coupons and special offers.

What’s the most successful mobile payment system to date? It’s an application that can be downloaded onto your phone to pay for coffee. Yes, the Starbucks app, launched in January 2011, has processed 55 million transactions, the company has said, adding that it processes more than a million mobile phone transactions per week.
[Read more…]

Kuapay Expands to New York City

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Kuapay, an intuitive mobile payment solution that incorporates coupons, reward cards and loyalty cards, announced today the availability of its mobile payments application to New York City merchants. The service is currently enjoying considerable success with southern California merchants across multiple different verticals.

The company’s flagship client is The Bean, a chain of local coffee and food shops. The Bean lost its lease to a corporate coffee chain last fall and responded by continuing plans for expansion into three East Village locations. Kuapay is also working with the Little Pie Company, a bakery located on 424 West 43rd Street.

“We are excited to enter the New York City market, which has a diverse mix of customers that demand an optimal experience from every merchant,” said Kuapay founder and CEO Joaquin Ayuso de Paul. “We’re an independent company that is able to move fast to meet the needs of our broad base of clients. We chose The Bean because they are also a dynamic company that is moving to aggressively capture customers and we admire their success.”

“Given all the options on the market, I had to go with a solution that offered exceptional value to my customers, and Kuapay does,” said Ike Escava, co-owner of The Bean.

Starting today and continuing for 10 days, The Bean and Kuapay will offer a special promotion during midday to encourage users to download their free mobile wallet app. Kuapay allows users to store various coupon offers, reward programs, and credit and debit cards in a digital wallet that features a patented encryption process. The company offers the lowest per-transaction rate in the industry to merchants, enabling merchants of all sizes to present attractive offers and integrated loyalty rewards. Kuapay gives complete control of the digital wallet to the consumer, allowing them to store their preferred credit card, loyalty program, and custom coupons for free.

“We designed Kuapay to be universally intuitive for both consumers and merchants,” continued Mr. Ayuso de Paul. “Once a customer downloads the app, the steps needed to pay with their phone are immediately evident. There’s simply no learning curve.”

Source: PR Newswire

Walmart Tests iPhone App for Scanning Purchases for Checkout

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc is testing a system that would allow shoppers to scan items using their iPhones and then pay at a self-checkout counter, a move that could trim checkout times and slash costs for retailers.

If the "Scan & Go" test by the world’s largest retailer is successful, it has the potential to change the way people shop and pay, making the process more personal and potentially faster.
[Read more…]

moneto Enhances Mobile Payment Program with Product Upgrades and New Features

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Richardson, TX (PRWEB) August 28, 2012

Moneto, a multi-platform Near Field Communication (NFC) based mobile payment service for iPhone and Android, announced today various enhancements that add to the unique program. The upgraded program comes equipped with new products, additional features, more handset support, lowered pricing and a brand new website.

“We’re excited to release the enhanced moneto mobile service,” said Youri Bebic, DeviceFidelity’s General Manager for moneto programs. “We’ve made the program smarter and more feature rich to ensure we give our customer base what they want. Our multi-platform mobile payment solution is proud to be fundamentally customer focused, and we are responding to the marketplace with an irresistible value proposition.”

Now moneto becomes the first payment app to combine NFC in-store payment with free person-to-person money movement capability within the program.

This new “Money Move” feature is available to both iPhone and Android consumers through the moneto app and allows electronic instantaneous movement of money from one moneto cardholder to another, at no charge. With this new feature, moneto users will be able to send their friends and relatives money quickly, making group dining and outings easy to manage by eliminating inconvenient trips to the ATM.

NEW PRODUCTS:

More storage for Android users
In direct response to customer feedback, the moneto mobile wallet for Android now comes with 4GB of additional storage for photos, videos. The additional storage will allow an Android user to have NFC for mobile payment transactions on their Android device along with four times the storage.

In addition to expanded storage, the moneto mobile wallet for Android now includes mobile device support for the Samsung Galaxy SII (AT&T and T-Mobile), Samsung Infuse 4G (AT&T), and HTC Sensation 4G (T-Mobile) devices. These four devices join the Samsung Galaxy S i9000, Samsung Vibrant, Samsung Fascinate, Samsung Mesmerize, Samsung Showcase, Samsung Galaxy S 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G devices. The addition of the popular Android devices provides millions the access to NFC on their phone for mobile payments, allowing consumers to make in-store purchases where MasterCard® PayPass is accepted.

More battery juice for iPhone users
An exciting new addition to the lineup of popular NFC cases for iPhone is moneto X. Designed to work with the moneto microSD, moneto X includes the iCaisse4X, a powerful and multi-functional case that allows iPhone users to fully utilize the moneto features together with an extended battery providing additional talk and surf time

The new design is an amazingly protective and stylish hard shell two-piece case that allows iPhone owners to simply slide in their phone and instantly make mobile payments. The case itself doubles as an additional source of power complete with an extended battery that is controlled and monitored directly from the case. For the traveler constantly on the go with limited access to recharge, moneto X is one of the only extended battery cases on the market with a removable battery allowing users to carry yet another charged battery. The ingenious moneto X case is the only iPhone solution to harness the power of NFC for the iPhone while being fully equipped with an external battery pack.

WEBSITE
moneto’s new online website offers a more comprehensive look at the program as well as a fresh new design. The new website will allows visitors to get a better sense of the revamped program, easily obtain information, as well as access their online account to utilize such features as online bill pay, direct deposit and online card to card transfers.

NO MORE MONTHLY FEES
You can now use the moneto prepaid debit MasterCard® for FREE with NO monthly fees for the first three months. Plus, each additional month where at least $300 is spent is absolutely free*. For non-qualifying months, a market low monthly fee of only $2.95 will be charged.

PRICING & AVAILABILITY
The moneto mobile wallet is available for order online at moneto.com. moneto now offers three main products: moneto X with extended battery for iPhone retails for $79.96, the original moneto mobile wallet for iPhone with the new lower retail price of $59.95 and moneto 4GB for Android for $29.95.

Every moneto kit comes with a moneto microSD, a patented NFC case or NFC antenna sticker applicator, a prepaid debit MasterCard allowing users to access ATM’s nationwide, and $10 preloaded onto the account. The FREE moneto app can be downloaded from the Android Market or Apple App Store and comes complete with a reload feature to add funds to moneto, a locator that lists merchants that accept NFC payments by zip code or current location, and the new Money Move card-to-card transfers.

Source: Moneto

Starbucks Launches Mobile App for Android in UK and Canada

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Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) today announced the continued global expansion of the Starbucks mobile platform with the roll-out of Starbucks® app for Android™ to the United Kingdom and Canada. In addition, U.S. customers who download or update to the official Starbucks® app for Android™ will be able to experience new enhancements including a widget, PayPal™ support, PIN code protection, and viewing the My Starbucks Rewards™ history dashboard.

“The expansion of our mobile payment footprint to two of our most important markets is a strong milestone for us, but more importantly, it extends the number of customers who now have a faster and easier way to pay at Starbucks,” said Adam Brotman, chief digital officer at Starbucks Coffee Company. “We are thrilled to extend mobile payment capabilities to Android smartphones in the UK and Canada and enhance the experience in the U.S.”

Customers who download the official Starbucks® app for Android™ in Canada and the UK will now be able to access a range of features including Starbucks Card mobile payment, store locator, My Starbucks Rewards™ stars, check balance and reload, PIN code protection, widget and balance transfer capabilities. Through the Starbucks® app for Android™ expansion to the UK and Canada, Starbucks mobile payment will now be accepted at nearly 14,000 Starbucks locations worldwide.

Starbucks® App for Android™ Features:

Starbucks® app for Android™, available on Google Play, is available for phones running Android™ 2.2 or above and is designed to offer a rich user experience. Starbucks® app for Android™ allows customers in the U.S., UK and Canada to:

  • Pay with your phone: Enjoy the faster, more convenient way to pay at participating Starbucks stores. Just download the app, enter your Starbucks Card number, scan and go.
  • Pay and reload with PayPal™ (NEW): Pay and reload your Starbucks Card via PayPal on your Android device through the Starbucks® app for Android™ (US and Canada only). Additionally, you can use your smartphone to reload your Starbucks Card using any major credit card.
  • Manage your card account: Access your Starbucks Card balance directly from your phone.
  • Manage and check your My Starbucks Rewards status (ENHANCED): Find out how close you are to earning your next free drink through an easy-to-view My Starbucks Rewards™ history dashboard.
  • Find nearby Starbucks stores: Save time by finding a Starbucks store near you. The locator helps you view the stores through a map view or list view and helps you search for stores based on your needs.
  • Activate a widget (NEW): Core to the Android™ experience, a widget is now available so you can quickly and easily view your balance, My Starbucks Rewards™ star count, store locator and Touch to Pay icon.
  • Leverage safeguards (NEW): Add another safeguard by including a PIN code protection.

Source: Starbucks

Contactless Payments Landscape

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By John Rozek —

Contactless cards have been hailed as the “next big thing” in the payments industry. With more than 17 million contactless cards already in circulation and 75,000 points of sale across the UK, it’s easy to see why many in the industry believe we are reaching a ‘tipping point’.

According to Visa, 2012 is the year that contactless will become a mainstream payment method in the UK. This will be fuelled, at least in part, by the 2012 London Olympics—the “cashless games.” More and more UK retailers, including big brands like Tesco and Boots, are now rolling-out contactless across their stores and many now believe that contactless—almost seven years after it was first introduced by the card schemes—is finally on the cusp of really taking off.

Some industry experts, however, believe that celebrating the success of contactless adoption is premature. They also believe that, despite the hype, there is still a lot of work to be done before cardholders really embrace this new method of payment.

Tipping point for contactless?
For the majority of cardholders, Chip and PIN is an ideal source of payment as it is secure and can be used in all locations; contactless gives them virtually no additional benefits. In addition, many do not know which of their cards actually support contactless, or which retailers accept it as a means of payment.

As many checkout operators are not trained in contactless they are less likely to promote it, and if terminals are damaged or not working properly it further hinders mass adoption.  And although the speed at point of sale (POS) of contactless is undoubtedly a positive, the benefit is largely aimed towards the retailer rather than the cardholder.

Contactless also has a £15 maximum spend limit which experts argue is too low; many shops have a £5 card minimum spend limit, which means that cardholders need to ensure that their purchases cost between £5 and £15. Raising the contactless spend limit would certainly help increase its popularity. Larger retailers do not have a minimum limit, so in many instances cardholders will be able to use contactless most times they visit certain stores.

London 2012
While there has been much talk to suggest that the London Olympics 2012 will drive contactless adoption, experts believe that the extent to which this will happen has been exaggerated. For those lucky enough to have secured Olympic tickets, it is unlikely that they will have access to more than one session, during which they will be far more focused on the event in hand than using contactless. Due to the scarcity of tickets the majority of people will have to settle for watching the Olympics on TV, further reducing the impact the events will have on contactless adoption.

Near Field Communication (NFC) will open up contactless payments to an adoption group keen to use technology on their mobiles, but again, many believe that contactless on its own does not have the same appeal. Smart phone users expect functionally rich apps to enhance their shopping experience and are used to one-touch payments over the internet for iTunes, Amazon, Google and so on; it would be very difficult for contactless to compete with this experience.

However, NFC is widely expected to enable “higher value payments,” where the customer is able to enter their PIN via their mobile.   Industry announcements are widely expected next year, really opening up the way to contactless payments via the mobile phone.

Mobile wallets will offer dramatically more exciting options than simple contactless. Not only do they allow users on the move to access financial accounts, but they also play an integral part in the development of digital commerce and banking. Initiatives such as Barclay’s launch of Pingit will drive person to person mobile payments and experts anticipate that the winning mobile wallet offerings will go viral!

Going forward
For contactless to be truly successful it needs to be part of a wider solution and not used in isolation. It needs to be convenient and quickly become mainstream. More importantly however, it needs to be promoted by well known and trusted industries such as public transport, where people can be assured and encouraged to use it as a convenient and safe alternative to cash.

About the Author

John Rozek

John Rozek of payment consultancy, Polar Moment.

John Rozek has over 16 years of experience working at the forefront of the payments industry. Working with Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, John led an industry leading cross-border implementation and ATM service delivery programme. He also led the team that introduced Chip and PIN to over 120,000 points of sale across UK. John was one of the founding members of Polar Moment and has played a key role in developing the organisation to become a leading provider of payments consultancy. He is a recognised name across the sector, delivering payment industry consultancy and business development services.