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Editorial: Square gets the attention, but credit cards rule

Brad Hill — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:00:00 -0400

Lower Manhattan, Pearl Street, the Financial District. A Starbucks with broad windows, great for people watching. Sipping my $5 flavored coffee, I watched a homeless man sit on the sidewalk. I liked him immediately: his sharp gaze and thoughtful expression. When I left, I squatted down next to him and put five bucks in his jar, contributing the cost of my first-world coffee to the man's case for survival.

We talked. He knew his tech, this man of no possessions, describing his favorite productivity gadgets of the past decade, scorning Apple for form over function. He had been living on the street day and night for two years. My five dollars was "huge," he said. I knew that was true only microcosmically. He liked cigars. That's where the cash would go.

Meanwhile, Starbucks had recently cut a deal with Square, one of the hottest startup stories of the season, so that people with five dollars to spend on coffee needn't pull out a wallet and ponder their privilege.

Filed under: Tablets, Wireless, Software

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MasterCard announces PayPass User Interface SDK, lets devs roll their own NFC payment-enabled apps

Alexis Santos — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:10:00 -0400

MasterCard has been in the cashless payment game for quite a while, and now it's hoping to get more developers on the PayPass bandwagon with its freshly unveiled user interface software development kit. By leveraging the SDK, programmers will be able to bake the firm's NFC payment system, which is compatible with over 70 handsets, into their own Android or BlackBerry OS 7 apps. The kit is free to license and includes API code libraries, documentation, a developer guide, sample code, a white-label reference application and a testing suite. Once apps are created with the SDK, they'll have to go through MasterCard's approval process before they go live. Yearning to code PayPass-enabled smartphone software? Check out the press release below for more details.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Cashless Conversations Blog (MasterCard)

PayPal arrives on Windows Phone devices running version 7.5 or higher

Daniel Cooper — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:38:00 -0400

eBay's money-exchanging service has brought its payments platform to Windows Phone 7.5 handsets. PayPal's new app lets you send and request cash and check your account details (hopefully while laughing maniacally at your own affluence). A "local" feature will also direct you toward vendors who accept the standard, just remember that NFC supporting handsets don't get here for another few weeks.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile

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Via: Phonearena

Source: Windows Marketplace

MasterCard and T-Mobile to bring NFC payments to Europe in Q3 (video)

Zach Honig — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:58:00 -0400

Poland and Germany could be the next two countries to get smartphone payments, powered by MasterCard and Deutsche Telekom. The SIM-based NFC solution will utilize the US bank's ClickandBuy service for processing and will be available to T-Mobile customers, rolling out to Poland in Q3 of this year and Germany in 2013. This latest partnership comes on the heels of Vodafone's pairing with Visa, which is also said to be making a push for the German market. What remains to be seen is whether or not there is in fact a demand for mobile payments -- the technology has yet to take off in the US, despite an influx of funding and infrastructure from MasterCard and Google. NFC is no doubt the future of cashless transactions, but it likely remains a few years away from hitting the mainstream, with compatible devices still limited, on both the customer and retail fronts. Hit up the links below for a closer look at DT's push to conquer the European market, one NFC-equipped SIM card at a time. Then jump past the break for a quick intro, compliments of Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann and MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga (the two seemingly random gentlemen that you may have noticed above as well).

Filed under: Mobile

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Hitachi develops biometric payment system, uses it to sell junk food

Joseph L. Flatley — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:13:00 -0400

Looks like Hitachi has made some serious headway on the biometric payment system we first heard about way back in the halcyon days of 2007. According to the Mainichi Daily News, the company is currently testing its Finger Vein Authentication System internally, with the device serving as a method of payment for vending machines and the like. Once it's proven that employees are able to get their Koala's March and Hi-Chew without incident, the plan is to up the ante, with high precision ID systems that combine finger vein and finger print authentication systems for military use.

Filed under: Science

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Japan to push its whiz-bang handsets overseas

Darren Murph — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:32:00 -0400

With Japanese handset sales declining pretty much across the board (thanks, lower subsidies!), it follows logic that the government and Japanese-based handset makers would look internationally to pick up the slack. In a rather vague report, we're told that the nation is hoping to push its technologically advanced mobiles in other countries, though it'll have a tough time marketing mobile TV without sufficient infrastructure. One of the token handsets chosen to lead the parade is a Sony-made "wallet phone," which is only described as having cashless technology built in. Color us (very) mildly enthused.

Filed under: Handsets, Misc, Mobile

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Japan to push its whiz-bang handsets overseas

Darren Murph — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:32:00 -0400

Filed under: Cellphones

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Hitachi, JCB developing biometric payment system

Darren Murph — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:46:00 -0400

Considering all the companies that have already (or almost) jumped on the cashless bandwagon, it follows logic that another duo of Japanese firms are bringing their own biometric payment system to the forefront. Reportedly, Hitachi and JCB Co. Ltd. are working hand in hand (ahem) to develop a system that would "identify the veins on a person's finger" in order to sync with their credit card or bank data and complete a purchase. As expected, the companies are pushing their creation as a safer and more reliable method of paying for items, and while there's no telling how quickly customers are apt to implement said technology, Hitachi has reportedly stated that it would "launch an experiment in September involving 200 of its employees to see if it is commercially viable to introduce the system in shops, banks and other businesses."

Filed under: Misc

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Specifications for cellphone payments announced

Donald Melanson — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:47:00 -0400

Payments by cellphone are obviously a hot area right now, with everyone from SanDisk and Philips to Visa and Nokia to PayPal getting into the game. And if you needed any more proof that it is for real, the NFC Forum (that's Near Field Communications, for anyone not versed in the lingo) have just announced the first five specifications for cashless payments by cell, although the full specs will only be available "sometime between July and September." What we do know is that the NFC's architecture will include specifications that define a modular NFC device, as well as protocols for interoperable data exchange, device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability. That also includes specifications for smart posters or other advertising, which contain embedded tags that can deliver content to cellphones. And, unlike some other standards committees, the NFC Forum has most of the major players in the industry on side, so it doesn't look like we'll see much controversy over these specifications.

Filed under: Handsets, Mobile

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