Mobile Payment Magazine

MasterCard Demonstrates Google Wallet for Mobile Payments

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MasterCard demonstrated the Google Wallet application, which is scheduled to launch soon.  Running on Sprint’s Nexus S 4G — with a planned expansion to multiple devices — users can connect a Citi MasterCard account to the service, and tap-to-pay at any retail location outfitted with a PayPass station.

The transactions take place as instantaneously as you’d expect, with spending alerts notated automatically in-app, as well as via text message.  Currently, the Google Wallet service is Android-only, and that’s probably a direct result of the AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile backed mobile payment rival, ISIS. [Read more…]

Report Says ISIS to Invest $100M to Challenge Google Wallet

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With summer days dwindling, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has less than two weeks to make good on its pledge to launch its Google Wallet mobile payment service.

Google Wallet is a mobile application service that will let owners of Sprint’s Samsung Nexus S 4G smartphones use their phone as a wallet at some 20 retailers and restaurants.

Bloomberg said the carrier group, which unveiled its own tap-and-pay effort in July, plans to invest $100 million to build out its mobile payment plans to challenge Wallet.

Read more, via eWeek.com.

Google Wallet and Retail NFC Mobile Payments Ignite Buzz, Says ABI Research

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Recent developments in contactless payment technology are generating renewed interest, and suggest that the long-delayed dream of comprehensive contactless payment systems may finally be approaching reality. The introduction of Google Wallet and the expectation that several new NFC-enabled smartphones will reach consumer markets soon have created a sense of optimism.

According to ABI Research, in 2010 only about 10% of total POS terminal shipments included some form of contactless technology. While the analyst firm does not agree with some of the wilder media predictions for contactless POS growth – for example that within 12 months, one third of all terminals in the US will accept contactless payments – it does forecast that 85% of terminals shipped worldwide will be contactless-enabled in 2016, driven by increased proliferation of contactless cards and especially, rapid adoption of NFC-enabled cell phones.

Senior analyst Craig Foster comments, “Contactless has the potential to change the way we pay for goods completely, significantly reducing time spent queuing at the point of sale. It also represents an almost perfect fit for the vending industry, because:

  • The increased speed and simplicity of check-out go hand-in-hand with the very essence of the vending machine – to provide goods quickly and conveniently;
  • The fact that small-value transactions – typically under $25 in the US – do not need to be authenticated by signature or PIN entry is very appealing to vending machine operators.”

M2M practice director Sam Lucero adds, “Contactless technology is also in the very early stages of adoption in ATMs: rather than inserting the card, a customer waves it in front of the machine and enters a PIN.”

Ingenico, VeriFone, and Hypercom are the three leading vendors of POS terminals and command most of the market. VeriFone recently completed the acquisition of Hypercom after satisfying the antitrust concerns of the US Department of Justice. Contactless terminals have formed an increasingly significant part of Ingenico’s portfolio in recent years, accounting for a claimed 21% of the company’s shipments in 2010.

ABI Research’s “Cellular-enabled POS Terminals, ATMs, and Vending Machines” study examines the overall market opportunity for each segment, with a particular focus on value chains, competitive landscapes, market adoption drivers and inhibitors, and technology issues.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 40+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990.

Source: ABI Research

Mobile Payment Startups

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Venmo was founded by under 30-year-old entrepreneurs Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail in Philadelphia. Fewer people carry cash these days and Kortina and Magdon-Ismail saw this as an opportunity to tackle the simple problem that comes with paying back friends and family while on-the-go. Venmo lets friends pay each other back for anything – lunch, dinner, drinks, rent, groceries, tickets, trips – whatever. It works with all the major banks in the US, like Bank of America, ING, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, etc., making it very easy for users to adopt.

Overview of Mobile Payment options:

  • Venmo
  • Zong
  • Square
  • iZettle
  • Google Wallet
  • Starbucks
  • TabbedOut

Red full article, via Tech Cocktail.

Visa’s Plan to Dominate Mobile Payments

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It’s no secret that credit card companies are shelling out big bucks and aggressively forming partnerships and deals to start cashing in on the mobile and digital payments innovations currently taking place. American Express, which recently debuted its own digital payments product Serve, has been particularly aggressive on the partnerships front, striking recent deals with both Foursquare and Facebook. Mastercard has bet on NFC with a partnership with Google for Google Wallet and bought online payments gateway DataCash for $520 million last fall. And Visa has made a number of major movies in the mobile and digital payments space of late; including making an investment (and taking on an advisory role) in disruptive startup Square, buying virtual goods payments platform PlaySpan for $190 million, and acquiring mobile payments company Fundamo for $110 million. We sat down with Visa’s Global Head of Mobile Product Bill Gadja and the company’s Head of Global Product Strategy, Innovation and eCommerce Jennifer Schulz to discuss how the financial company is planning to compete in both mobile and digital payments.

Read more, via The Washington Post.

Mobile Banking Markets and Opportunities Report Announced by Research and Markets

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Research and Markets  has announced the release of a new report, entitled “M-Banking Markets and Opportunities.”

Mobile banking refers to a client-server system that is specifically designed for mobile devices, allowing banking customers to use handheld devices to access their accounts, pay bills, authorize fund transfers, or perform other activities. Like many other m-commerce services, mobile banking services can be challenging and no single company has all the expertise required to develop and deliver compelling services on its own. This report evaluates the mobile banking ecosystem and mobile banking solutions including mobile payments, provides a SWOT analysis for Visa and competitors, analyzes solutions for Visa’s weak points, discusses mobile banking implementation, and evaluates the market, applications, and methods. [Read more…]

10 Reasons Why Google Wallet Will Fail

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Google Wallet is the search engine’s ambitious play to push mobile payments into the mainstream. When the service goes live in New York and San Francisco this summer, users will download the Google Wallet application from the Android Market and provision either a Citi MasterCard or Google prepaid card to work with the app and the NFC (near-field communications) chip on their phone. Shoppers may then just tap to pay for goods on NFC-supporting point-of-sale terminals in more than 311,000 retail stores worldwide that offer MasterCard’s PayPass service. Wallet needs a raison d’etre or else it’s just another niche, erstwhile payment play. [Read more…]