Mobile Payment Magazine

Regulatory Uncertainty Casts Doubts On Legal Status of Mobile Payment Services

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The emergence of new technology that enables consumers to pay for things with their smartphones has exposed shortcomings in the laws governing financial transactions. As it stands now, no one law or government authority oversees the burgeoning field of mobile commerce. At the same time, regulators have yet to explain what, how, and to whom existing laws may apply.

The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, for instance, governs the use of personal information maintained by financial institutions. The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, along with its 2003 amended version, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, establishes rules for access to, and dissemination of, consumer reports. Regulation E, first issued by the Federal Reserve Board in 1979 under the authority of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, provides protection for electronic fund transfers to and from a consumer’s bank account.
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VeriFone Raises Outlook on Mobile Payment Hopes

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VeriFone Systems Inc. posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year outlook as it ropes in more customers for mobile payment technologies. The credit card swipe machine maker is betting on strong demand for near field communication (NFC) technology that allows people to pay for their purchases by waving an NFC-enabled mobile phone.
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mHITs Australia SMS Payment Service Wins 2011 Australian Mobile Awards in Finance, Business and mCommerce Category

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The mHITs Australia SMS payment service was announced as a WINNER in the 2011 Australian Mobile Awards. mHITs was selected as the winner of the Mobile Trading Platform section within the Finance, Business and mCommerce category of the awards.

“We are very excited to have received this award” says mHITs founder and CEO Harold Dimpel. “mHITs is a simple SMS based payment service that is available to all Australian mobile phone users. This latest award is recognition that innovation and successful commercialization are possible even in challenging economic times” he continues.

The mHITs service allows users to send and receive payments via SMS text message.  Users can send and receive payments to each other by SMS or can order and pay for food and beverage items such as coffee from mHITs venues.  Focusing on micro-payments, the platform is the only carrier-independent and bank-independent mobile payment wallet in the Asia-Pacific region that offers full service functionality including person-to-person and merchant payment options including Point Of Sale capability.

Source: PR Wire

Chinese Mobile Payment Company B.Shark Expands to Thailand Market

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B.Shark, a Chinese company offering worldwide mobile payment solutions, is expanding its market to Thailand. The company’s mobile payment API covers the three major operators in Thailand: AIS, DTAC and TrueMove.

The number of mobile subscribers in Thailand exceeds 70 million, which is greater than the population–so each subscriber has more than one mobile phone on average.

According to the latest figures,the average revenue per user (ARPU) for Thailand operators has a fairly wide range. DTAC, which focuses on high-level business subscribers, has the highest ARPU at 286 THB, followed by AIS at 232 THB, and TrueMove at 112 THB. Most subscribers in Thailand will charge 50 THB each time, and the lowest value recharge card is 20 THB.

In terms of value-added services, the most popular content is music, especially the local music created by Thailand’s popular music singers. The second most popular content is mobile wallpaper. Smart phone owners are frequent users of social network applications. When it comes to games, Texas Poker is one of the most popular.

Chinese mobile payment solution provider, B.Shark, has already launched its global mobile payment API, supporting China-Phone OS, Android OS and also web-based computer social games. The API covers the three mobile operators in Thailand. All mobile game developers and mobile phone producers are free to download the API and integrate with their games or application.

Source: B.shark

Intuit GoPayment App to Be Offered by Verizon Wireless

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Verizon Wireless and Intuit Inc.  today announced a strategic alliance to give small businesses – from the sole proprietor to a medium-sized business – the ability to process credit card payments on smartphones and tablets.

The companies are now offering Intuit’s GoPayment app and pocket-sized credit card reader in Verizon Wireless’ 2,300 retail stores and business-to-business sales channels.GoPayment makes it easier and more affordable for small businesses to process credit cards and for anyone who sells products or services to accept credit card payments wirelessly. The card reader simply plugs into the audio jack of a supported smartphone or tablet.

Credit and debit cards can be swiped through the card reader or entered into the app manually. The transaction is processed immediately and funds are automatically deposited into a user’s bank account within a few business days.

GoPayment supports devices on Android, BlackBerry and iOS platforms for most popular 3G and 4G LTE smartphones and tablets.

“Intuit’s GoPayment on America’s most reliable network is a mobile transaction game changer, and brings another dimension of must-have technology to the small business community,” said Mike Schaefer, executive director of the Business Solutions Group for Verizon Wireless.

“Payments and transactions are often the biggest hurdle businesses face. Our value proposition is to streamline, simplify and enable business owners to get paid with minimal delay. This collaboration with Intuit is an important part of our strategy to bring the most innovative online and mobile tools to our customers.”

“Rather than lose out on potential business, anyone who sells a product or service can now easily and affordably give their customers the option of paying with plastic,” said Chris Hylen, general manager of Intuit’s Payment Solutions division.

“GoPayment is meeting a huge need and is one of the fastest growing mobile payment solutions in the market. With Verizon Wireless, we’ll help even more people discover that they too can process credit card payments on the phones or tablets they already own.” To save time when processing payments, GoPayment offers the ability to create and sell from a list of frequently sold items. Depending on the types of goods and services sold, users can choose to apply sales tax, add tips and send customized receipts via text message and email with a map of where the transaction took place.

To protect data, sensitive credit card information is never stored on the phone. The data is also encrypted – once via the card reader and a second time via the GoPayment app.For the more than four million small businesses that use QuickBooks, GoPayment can also sync transactions with recent versions of QuickBooks – PC, Mac and soon QuickBooks Online – to save time by reducing manual data entry.

GoPayment also supports up to 50 users on one account, which is ideal for businesses with multiple employees who work in the field.

Source: PR Newswire

Telefónica Germany, Telekom and Vodafone Plan “Mpass” Mobile Payment Company

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Telefónica Germany, Telekom and Vodafone are pushing ahead with their joint activities in mobile payments. The three telecommunications providers intend to register their payment service mpass as a separate company, and have signed a letter of understanding to this effect. The new company is due to begin operating as early as this year.

More and more customers are taking advantage of convenient and secure payment via mobile or stationary internet from a mobile phone. Once the mobile payment scheme mpass is up and running, the three telecommunications providers plan to expand on their position in mobile payment. The new company will concentrate on stepping up distribution and marketing activities, as well as developing new products. Aided by new technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC), users will soon be able to make simple, secure and wireless payments in high-street shops, too.

“Payment by mobile phone will increasingly feature in our daily lives,” says Michiel van Eldik, Managing Director of Wholesale & Partner Management at Telefónica Germany. “It has actually been possible for several years. And the first NFC smartphones, with full functionality for all aspects of credit and bonus cards, are already in the stores. I think that even as early as next year, consumers will be leaving their credit cards at home and paying by mobile phone instead.”

“Queues at supermarket checkouts will soon be a thing of the past,” says Christian Illek, Director of Marketing at Telekom Deutschland, adding: “mpass will make mobile payment easier, faster and more secure than with conventional payment means. Within the mpass partnership we are not only applying the specific benefits of mobile phones in the payment market, but, more importantly, we are bundling our customer reach with that of our partners.”

Dr. Peter Walz, Member of the Management Board and Director of Wholesale & Strategy at Vodafone Deutschland: “For many years now we have offered an interoperable payment product across all networks with payments via the phone bill. This is now being continued in the shared mpass activities. Retailers want standardised solutions and that is what we are giving them with mpass.”

mpass is the mobile payment service of Telefónica Germany, Telekom and Vodafone. The service enables secure mobile and soon contactless payment for mobile phone users of all Germany’s networks. What is especially interesting is that sensitive customer data such as bank details are not sent to the trader as part of the purchase process. The payment order can only be authorised from the buyer’s mobile phone.

Source: Telefónica Germany

Fortumo Selects Payfone for Direct Mobile Billing

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Payfone, a leading mobile payment processing service, and Fortumo, a leading provider of mobile payments, today announced that Fortumo has selected Payfone to power the direct billing option for its in-app purchasing SDK. This direct billing mobile payment method offers better reliability and higher security as well as better payouts for developers. Through the partnership, Fortumo’s clients will be able to provide consumers with the ability to make safe and secure mobile payments in real-time from any device, such as PC, smartphone, tablet or Wi-Fi.

“We are excited to work with Payfone because of their deep integration with mobile operators’ billing systems,” said Rain Rannu, co-founder of Fortumo. “This in turn will allow us to continue to provide the highest converting in-app purchasing with more payment options for our clients.”

Payfone’s Mobile Commerce Service is directly integrated into the mobile operator’s network, which provides the ability to intelligently identify a consumer’s profile in the system and offers true payment authorization and authentication. Payfone’s Device DNA authenticates the consumer across a wide variety of parameters during the transaction, ensuring they get exactly what they paid for. By pairing the Device DNA to each transaction, Payfone is able determine if a transaction is from a lost or stolen mobile device or if the owner of the mobile account has changed. This translates into one of the most secure and frictionless user experiences, across any device.

Fortumo’s in-app purchasing SDK for Android is the preferred international monetization tool for some of the most popular mobile game and app developers. Payment is done in a single click with no login or registration required. Fortumo’s in-app purchasing library supports both direct mobile operator billing and premium SMS, automatically selecting the best option depending on country, operator and user. It comes with built-in support for consumable and non-consumable items and virtual currencies. Fortumo’s in-app purchasing SDK is available in 61 countries, 22 languages and 42 currencies for any developer for free at http://fortumo.com/in-app-payments

“We are pleased to be working with Fortumo to provide their clients with the most robust in-app mobile payments solution on the market,” said Rodger Desai, chief executive officer, Payfone. “With this partnership, Payfone’s technology will be leveraged for some of the largest mobile payment implementations worldwide.”

Source: PR Newswire

Verizon To Integrate American Express’ Payments on Mobile Phones And Tablets

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American Express and Verizon Wireless today announced they will integrate Serve, a next-generation digital payment and commerce platform, on many Verizon mobile phones and tablets. Over the coming months, Verizon Wireless customers will be able to establish Serve accounts that will enable them to make payments and redeem offers for goods and services directly from their mobile phones and tablets using Serve.

Serve simplifies the online checkout experience by authenticating a mobile number, then allowing a customer to make a purchase on-screen. Verizon Wireless customers who use Serve can expect to buy goods and services on their mobile phone in just a few clicks. Merchants who accept Serve mobile payments will enjoy a streamlined option for processing and settlement. The Serve card is currently accepted by the millions of merchants in the United States who accept American Express.

American Express and Verizon Wireless will also collaborate to source, distribute and simplify redemption of online and mobile offers with participating merchants through the use of the Serve account. For example, as customers redeem certain offers or coupons using their mobile phones, the credit may automatically appear in their Serve account.

The two companies are also working with Payfone to support Serve checkout on Verizon Wireless devices. Payfone’s pre-authorization and intelligent routing features will help Verizon Wireless customers who use the Serve application make mobile payments simply and securely.

“Our collaboration with Verizon highlights the speed at which Serve is evolving to reach a wide audience,” said Dan Schulman, group president, Enterprise Growth, American Express. “Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to complement their busy lifestyle with a trusted payment platform that delivers a fast, flexible and secure way to manage their day-to-day mobile purchases, and together we’re taking the necessary steps to make mobile commerce a reality.”

Greg Haller, president, Enterprise & Government for Verizon Wireless, said, “Serve provides a quick and intuitive way for our customers to use their mobile service in a refreshingly convenient way. Our commitment to building the entire mobile payments ecosystem, through our Isis joint venture and now with Serve, gives customers incredible new ways to use their mobile devices.”

Source: Verizon Wireless

T-Mobile’s Mobile Payment Plan Risky, Says Consumer Group

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Earlier this month, T-Mobile announced that it will soon launch a new service that will enable its customers to purchase digital content using their smartphone, PC, or tablet and bill it to their phone accounts. T-Mobile’s announcement is just the latest development in emerging mobile payment services that raises concerns about whether consumers will be protected from fraud or merchant mistakes, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

“Mobile payment products promise a new, convenient way to pay but consumers could end up losing money if something goes wrong with their transaction,” said Michelle Jun, Senior Attorney for Consumers Union. “Consumers need to be protected in the event of a billing error or if the goods they order aren’t as promised or if they become victims of fraud. Mobile payment services like the one being launched by T-Mobile could put consumers at risk and fail to provide the protections they deserve.”

Read more, via Consumers Union.

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.