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PayPal buys Card.io visual credit card scanner platform, is neither Here nor there
Thought PayPal was done upping its mobile payment game when it unveiled its triangular Square competitor earlier this year? Think again. Despite Here being, well, here, PayPal's not satisfied having but one way to scan your plastic, and so it's snapped up Card.io. In case you've forgotten, Card.io gathers credit card info visually using a smartphone's camera -- no scanning dongle required -- to save fingers and thumbs from having to enter payment info manually. Oh, and for folks fearing that PayPal would pull the plug on other apps' access to Card.io's SDK, not to worry -- PayPal assures us that Card.io's technology will remain available to developers.
Square now available at Walgreens, Staples and FedEx Office
While a roster of competitors are trying to get their foot in the mobile payments door, Square's busy getting a foothold in retail stores. With Walgreens, Staples and FedEx Office locations now carrying the credit card reader, it's available at more than 20,000 physical shops throughout the US -- joining Apple, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Radio Shack, Target, UPS and Wal-Mart. Bringing it home from a brick and mortar establishment will set you back $9.95, but Square's sweetening the pot with a $10 rebate for new users. However, if your entrepreneurial snail mail-loving heart desires, you can still have one mailed to you by signing up online. Eager to start swiping plastic? Lookout below for the full press release.
iCache Geode claims title of first shipping iPhone e-wallet, asks 'who needs NFC?'
Apple has been sending mixed signals as to whether or not it will bring NFC to the iPhone for mobile payments, but iCache clearly isn't waiting for the technology to show its face -- the company just started shipping its Geode e-wallet. As we saw just a few weeks ago, the Geode simply rolls existing credit and debit cards into a proxy GeoCard that's scanned at the store to handle transactions. Although it demands a specially-made case with an e-paper screen and fingerprint reader, not to mention an app to manage the attached cards, the choice lets an iPhone owner buy goods at all the usual places instead of having to hunt down special terminals. We like the one-card universe it creates, although it's clear the shopper has to carry a lot of the responsibility for making this digital payment dream a reality: at $200 a pop, the Geode's wallet-slimming effect carries a premium, especially since it won't work with anything besides an iPhone 4 or 4S.
PayPal and Softbank announce new joint venture in Japan, mobile app
PayPal has joined forces with Softbank to bring its mobile payment system / digital wallet to Japan. PayPal Here uses an encrypted card reader -- like its BFF Square, and more recently, VeriFone -- to minimize users' cash dependency. There's also a redesigned app that makes it easier for customers to locate participating merchants while they're out and about. The $25 million joint venture targets small businesses, especially those using iPhones (though it also works just fine on Android), and will be made available to the Japanese masses over the next several weeks. We're sure the setup will be used exclusively by the forces of good to stimulate the local economy.
In Ticketing increases options for venues and promoters, as long as they're using iOS
Converting a cellphone into a credit card reader is nothing new, but transforming one into a box office for live events could shake things up a bit -- or, at least provide a bit of friendly competition for NFC-based alternatives. In Ticketing has just launched InHand Box Office software for use at live events. The company claims to be one of the greener ticketing outfits out there, and plans to turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a device capable of wirelessly processing payments (and printing out paper receipts, unlike Square or PayPal Here) at independently run concerts or festivals. Potentially reducing time spent in line and preventing congestion at the entrance translates into more people inside the venue, and using your phone instead of a difficult-to-establish credit card merchant account should reduce the friction in throwing such an event. As long as you tend to carry the appropriate iDevice with In Ticketing's new app installed, you can marry it to that iAPS Sled you see above to create your own personal CC processing machine. The only issues? Convincing Gotye to play your house party instead of Coachella next year, and that awkward lack of support for Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.
EnStream to bring mobile wallet to Canadians, make loonies obsolete (video)
A joint venture of Canadian carriers Rogers, Bell and Telus called EnStream is in final talks with the country's leading banks (likely CIBC, TD, RBC, Scotiabank and BMO) to bring a mobile wallet solution to the Great White North within six months. The system, which was demoed at the CWTA Wireless Showcase last September, enables mobile payments by storing a user's financial credentials on the SIM located inside their NFC-capable phone. It aims to replace credit and debit cards at first -- perhaps even driver's licenses and loyalty programs down the road. Carriers plan to charge banks a flat rate instead of a per-transaction fee. According to Almis Ledas, EnStream's COO, "banking machines will become the payphones of the future". While we command this attempt to standardize mobile payments in Canada, the time frame seems rather optimistic in light of the slow progress AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have made with Isis in the US so far. Different countries, different rules of course -- still, we think it's going to take quite a while to make loonies obsolete. Maybe this is the perfect window of opportunity for Google Wallet and Square to jump across the border, eh? Time will tell. Check out EnStream's mobile wallet in action on video after the break.
Square's feeling good, on pace to take $5 billion in payments per year
Despite growing competition from PayPal, Intuit and Verifone, it appears that Square's business is still going gangbusters. The grandaddy of all smartphone payment systems is set to take $5 billion in payments this year, up from $2 billion a scant six months ago. According to company COO Keith Rabois, such expansive growth has been fostered by the fact that Square makes the cash from transactions available to merchants the next business day -- a feature greatly appreciated by small businesses. Clearly, Huey Lewis was right, and you can see what we mean after the break.
WSJ: Target, Walmart, other retailers teaming up to take on Google Wallet
Google's certainly not alone in its vision of a future in which the smartphone makes credit cards go the way of the Palm Pilot. The software giant may have gotten a bit of a head start on some of the others, but it's already got some stiff competition in the form of the carrier-led Isis and a slew of new initiatives unveiled at MWC. According The Wall Street Journal, the field may soon be getting even more stiff competition. Walmart and Target have reportedly joined two dozen or so fellow retailers to develop a mobile payment system to call their own. While most of the participants have yet to be named, the list includes a pretty broad spectrum of companies, including fast food joints, big box retailers and drug stores. Google, for one, welcomes such competition, telling the paper, "We think it's great that there are other companies innovating in the payments space. This will create more choice for consumers, and in the end we believe choice is a good thing." No word on when exactly the initiative is set to launch.
FCC thinks ISPs should do a better job preventing fraud, theft
Internet fraud and theft are major problems, there seems to be little doubt about that -- according to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, some 8.4 million credit card numbers are stolen every year. The question, then, is who should be addressing the issue. Genachowski this week called for "smart, practical, voluntary solutions," asking internet service providers to put more effort into helping prevent data theft, hacks and other issues, or risk having "consumers lose trust in the internet," thereby "suppress[ing] broadband adoption and online commerce and communication." The chairman asked ISPs to help avoid hijacking through more efficient traffic routes and to instate DNSSEC to help weed out fraudulent sites.
MasterCard reveals roadmap for our electronic payment future: EMV in, magnetic strips out
It's been over fifteen years since MasterCard, Visa and Europay developed EMV technology to make your credit cards more secure, but it has yet to really catch on here in the US. However, MasterCard has created a master plan to help usher in the EMV era and sound the death knell for the magnetic strip. Why? The EMV infrastructure is far more fraud-resistant because each transaction is authenticated dynamically using cryptographic algorithms and a user-specific PIN. That's why MasterCard plans to help build out the EMV POS infrastructure by April of next year and have its secure e-payment system functioning at ATMs, online and with its myriad mobile payment options as well. For now, the nuts and bolts of how the credit card firm plans to bring its plan to fruition are few, but more details will be forthcoming, and there's a bit more info at the source and PR below.
Card.io reaches out to devs, offers up credit card payment accounts to Joe normal
Who needs extra hardware to add mobile payments to iOS and Android? Not Card.io, who's unveiled a new SDK for it's visual card processing system alongside a payment app allowing anyone to accept payments from other users. Having already launched its scanner software development kit last year, the new SDK will open up the company's payment process to third-party developers. The new payment app works across Android and iPhone platforms, with no need to register as a merchant to access the feature. Although there are no registration charges, payments made through either PayPal or your bank account will have an additional 3.5 percent plus 30 cents nudged on top of each transaction. Going dutch has never been more (begrudgingly) easy.
Square snags one million merchants, liberates the cashless
For those of us addicted to plastic, "I love you" hardly holds the same clout as those three magical words: "we accept credit." Taking the dream one step closer to plastic payment monogamy is the mobile checkout service, Square. According to founder Jack Dorsey, the company has hit a milestone today, signing up over one million small business owners ready to swipe. For merchants, all it takes is a Square reader and an iPhone, iPad or Android to start processing the plastic of the cash-o-phobic -- practically rendering those ATM pit stops pre-taco run or flea market excursion useless.
Square ditches $1,000 per week limits, has 800,000 merchants processing $2 billion per year
Until now, when a merchant using Square racked up over $1,000 in payments in the course of a week, everything above that limit was held for a period of time, ranging from just a few hours up to a whole month. As of today, roughly a year and a half after the company's founding, that restriction has been lifted. Now all payments will be processed immediately and merchants will have access to the funds the next day. Square also announced that, in the year or so since it started offering its wares to the public, it has signed up 800,000 merchants who have processed over $2 billion in transactions. After ditching the $0.15 per-transaction charge and with the $1,000 per-week restriction limit lifted, we're sure those numbers will only increase in the year ahead.
Developers get Google Wallet on original Nexus S, squares wiping your phone with $10
Previously the exclusive phone-swiping domain of Sprint's Nexus S 4G, it now seems possible to get the wonders of Google wallet on its decidedly 3G predecessor. However, it's not an operation for the faint-hearted. If the words Cyanogen, full wipe, flash and kernel resemble white noise, it's probably worth waiting for an official release. See how the forum members at XDA Developers got their NFC wallet fix at the link below. [Thanks, John]
Card.io launches visual credit card scanner on Android, shares the mobile payment love
Already in use on iOS, Card.io offers a lightweight alternative to Google Wallet, using your phone's camera to glean payment details; and it's now winging its way to your Android phone. It may not have that phone-tapping appeal of Google's contactless payment system, but the app SDK (available now) skips the laborious process of entering your details number-by-number, booting up your camera and delivering your precious banking details to third-party merchants. You can check the video after the break for a (really brief) walkthrough, or click on the source below to give the Android demo a go.
Massachusetts Attorney General investigating iTunes scams
We get several emails every week from readers claiming to have been hit with fraudulent charges on their iTunes accounts. It seems as though scammers have found a neatly exploitable hole in iTunes accounts, but they may have bitten off more than they can chew with their latest victim. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said her stolen credit card info was recently used to make fraudulent purchases on iTunes, and she wants answers from Cupertino. According to Threat Post, after having her credit card info stolen during a New Hampshire skiing trip, the thieves tried to purchase a laptop from Dell, who noted the transaction was fraudulent and contacted Coakley about it. Apple was not so diligent; thieves quickly emptied Coakley's account via iTunes transactions. While Coakley's response (seeking answers from Apple) may seem a bit reactionary at first, the slow trickle of reports we've received over the months concerning fraudulent iTunes purchases signifies that this problem is far greater in scope than one person's stolen credit card. We keep hearing the same stories again and again: "Purchases showed up on my account that I had nothing to do with. Apple hasn't gotten back to me. What do I do?" It's been happening often enough that there's clearly a real issue, and it's something that Apple, as operator of one of the world's largest repositories of credit card info, has a responsibility to address.
Engadget giveaway: win one of five Nexus S 4G phones with $1,000 Google Wallet credit!
We're pretty excited about Google Wallet, but the service is currently only available for Nexus S 4G phone owners, leaving most of you waiting for broader implementation. Well, how would you like to skip the line, getting to test it out on a Nexus S 4G of your very own? Google has supplied us with five phones to give away -- the company is even throwing in $1,000 (yes, one THOUSAND dollars) of prepaid credit to help fund those first few dozen taps. There's one catch: you'll need to use your Nexus S 4G with a Sprint plan, though the carrier is throwing in one month of demo service to get you started. Check out our in-depth preview for a detailed look at the service, and simply leave a comment after the break to be entered to win -- after checking that you meet the entry requirements, of course.
Polyamorous Google Wallet adds Visa to its arsenal
To the delight of shopaholics everywhere, Visa has announced that it's jumped on the Google Wallet bandwagon -- giving card users access to the snazzy, new NFC payment system. Much like MasterCard's announcement last week, the licensing agreement will allow Visa users to link their credit, debit and prepaid cards to Google's offering for fast mobile payments in places that accept the service. The credit card company has dabbled in mobile payments before through payWave, but with plans to integrate into GW, we'll surely be seeing more of it in the near future. As momentum over the NFC-powered mobile phones grows, it will be interesting to see if the Real Housewives can part with their phones long enough for their assistants to pay for those Manolos. Check out the full PR after the break.
A week with Google Wallet (video)
Contactless payments have been something of a curiosity in the credit card industry. MasterCard's PayPass has been around for the better part of a decade, but merchants and banks alike seem hesitant to adopt the technology required to make the system work, and inconsistent implementation adds to the confusion -- particularly for customers. Google's new mobile phone-based Wallet service has the potential to transform the technology from its current status as a transaction turkey, to a future as a checkout champion. But will it work? We spent a week with a Wallet-enabled Nexus S 4G, using the device to pay whenever we encountered a MasterCard PayPass terminal. Unfortunately, that wasn't often enough, limiting us to just a handful of transactions in the first week. Still, with Google just beginning to roll out the service and only a limited selection of launch partners ready to go, it's impossible to deliver a complete verdict just yet. Jump past the break for an inside look at Google Wallet, including a video of the service in action, and a brief look at what the world of contactless payments may look like in the future.%Gallery-130759%
Square Card Case now available
Square has released their Square Card Case app today, which allows anyone to open up a tab at a local merchant and pay without having to swipe their credit card. The Square Card Case works by allowing users to enter their credit card details into their Square account. Once at a local merchant who uses the Square Register app, users can start a tab. When the tab is created, the user's name will appear on the merchant's Square device. When the user is ready to check out, the merchant simply touches the user's name on the Square Register app where the transactions are tallied and paid for using the Card Case user's credit card on file. Upon completion of a transaction, a digital receipt is sent to the email address on file. A big plus of using Square Card Case is the ability to pay at local merchants right from your iPhone. However, right now, the Card Case app is only useful if you live in New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Los Angeles or St. Louis. But as more merchants start using Square, the Card Case app is sure to catch on. Square Credit Card users don't have to worry about any extra fees on their end either. Like using a regular credit card, Square charges the merchant per transaction. Square today also updated their Square credit card reader app. The update offers improved transaction speeds, no signature required for transactions $25 or less and the ability to enter $0.00 transactions (useful for when the merchant wants to keep track of items, but doesn't charge for them -- like a free bottled water when you buy a hotdog). The Square Card Case app and the Square credit card reader app are free downloads in the App Store.
