mastercard
Latest
Google Wallet goes to the Garden State, NJ Transit riders get 'tap and pay' privileges
The perks of Google's Nexus S used to lie solely in its unadorned OS. Now, owners of its penultimate Android flagship are about to get some additional mileage out of their Gingerbread-bearing handsets, courtesy of that underused NFC chip. The recently awakened near field communication feature's already been put to public task by Google Wallet and participating merchants, and will now add NJ Transit to its list of contactless payment partners. Select locations throughout the Garden State's transportation network, including Penn Station and Newark Airport's AirTrain, will let owners of Sprint's Nexus S 4G tap-to-pay for tickets at windows and vending machines. Unfortunately, the mobile payment system won't replace your need for an actual physical ticket or monthly pass just yet, and requires you opt-in with either Citi Mastercard or Visa. Still, it's a definite boon for rushed commuters who'll no longer have to juggle their bags, bagels, coffee and phones in an effort to buy a ticket and make it to work on time. Not yet enabled via NFC? Tap-to-erase-spray tans, but that's coming in the Galaxy Nexus, right?
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%
PayPal to add mobile payment features, hopes to redefine how we shop (till we drop)
Like the side ponytail craze of the '80s, the newest trend is turning out to be the mobile wallet -- especially as major players like Google, MasterCard, Verizon, Discover and now PayPal board the bandwagon. Our old buddy -- best known for its love affair with eBay (and ripping our own Darren Murph off a solid two large) -- has plans to implement new payment features primarily for (but not limited to) mobile. On the to-do list are things like QR / barcode scans, hyper local deals, fast checkout via NFC, etc. The company is adamant that it's not "just shoving a credit card on a phone," but rather planning to change the whole shopping experience. We'll know more when PayPal releases more details in early October, and when it launches the pilot product sometime later this year. Until then, check out the semi-cryptic video while brushing up on old episodes of SuperMarket Sweep after the break.
MasterCard demos Google Wallet, QkR platform for mobile payments
You've most likely heard plenty about NFC-capable smartphones, but little in the way of actual real-world uses for the chip. Well, MasterCard's looking to change all of that, and throw in a few innovations of its own courtesy of its in-house R&D labs and Google. Shown off at an event today, the company demoed the Google Wallet application we first learned about back in May -- which is gearing up for an official launch sometime "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. If you're the paranoid type or just a spendthrift, the app offers plenty of options to set spending limits, approve / block purchases via category (i.e. dining, entertainment) and enable alerts for overseas activity. 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. But the company's also got one eye fixed squarely on the future -- scheming up alternate implementations for payment on-the-go through its MasterCard Labs division. Focusing on its QkR platform (an obvious play on QR codes), these concepts ranged from television audio signals encoded with purchase data, audible to a phone running the QkR app, or fast-food tabletops embedded with NFC and QR codes that'll allow customers to scan for coupons, order remotely and apply the discount -- all without leaving their seats. The most interesting use of the new platform, however, had nothing to do with mobile phone use and everything to do with an Xbox Kinect. Utilizing the gesture recognition tech, items could be selected on-screen by holding your hand over an item and navigating through the checkout process. We know, yet another great proof-of-concept, but tuck away that cynicism for a second -- a company representative confided to us that soft-pilot testing of QkR is already underway, with an official announcement slated in the next two weeks. And don't worry about it being a Google OS-only affair, QkR's been tested across iOS, Windows Phone Mango and even BlackBerry. Whether or not the innovative payment system'll launch with all of these mobile OS on-board wasn't clear, but we were assured there'd be at least two partners on board. Jump past the break to get a close-up view of our hands-on with the future of payment. %Gallery-133981%
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon give Isis mobile payment network a $100 million boost
How do you compete with Google's new Wallet mobile payment system? Well, a $100 million cash infusion certainly couldn't hurt. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have plans to invest just that amount in Isis, sources told Businessweek. That sum is likely to grow, since taking on Google is no small feat, especially considering Wallet is already off the ground, with nationwide retail partners and support for MasterCard PayPass. Though Isis first made its debut last year, Google Wallet, which was announced in May, has clearly taken the lead. Isis is little more than a top-level website at this point, though with three of the nation's largest carriers providing support, it could have a chance to catch up -- especially if the carriers elect not to partner with Google, leaving Sprint as the sole wireless provider. We're glad to see some potential healthy competition for Wallet, especially considering that it was looking like Google was poised to create a monopoly. We expect much more to come on the Isis front, but in the meantime, hold on to those wallets -- cell phone payments may be in your future, but for now, paper and plastic are where it's at.
Scott Hartsman says gold farming hurts our games more than we know
Gold buying is one of those aspects of MMO culture that is seemingly universally denounced, yet enough people partake in the practice to keep the wheels of this grey market activity going. Scott Hartsman may be saying the obvious when he denounced gold farming and selling to Gamasutra, but apparently it is still something we need to hear. The Trion Worlds general manager shared a glimpse of just how hard these activities hit games, and how concerned he and other studio execs are about the proliferation of credit card fraud that results: "It's those kinds of things where people laugh and go, 'Oh, that never happens.' No. It happens. It happens a s**tload. To the point where, over the last three or four years, I would dare anybody to ask an exec at a gaming company how much they've had to pay in MasterCard and Visa fines, because of fraud. It happens a lot." According to Hartsman, the more these events take place, the more money studios spend on paying fines and dealing with them instead of reinvesting funds into the games themselves -- all because of the "jerks" perpetuating the crimes.
CSI Virtual MasterCard app will extend mobile payments to iOS, others
Engadget has confirmed that CSI and MasterCard will launch a mobile payment application for iOS in July of this year. The interesting note is that iOS and RIM are on the list as there are no iPhone or BlackBerry devices with Near-Field Communication (NFC) capability. By gazing into the crystal ball, we assume that the app either won't depend on NFC, or (less likely) both Apple and RIM will release NFC-enabled hardware. NFC rumors have hovered above the iPhone like so many vultures lately. A recent Bernstein report suggested that the forthcoming iPhone will not offer NFC support. Regardless, the app is coming. All we've got to do now is wait for it to show up and then see how it works.
CSI Virtual MasterCard app bringing mobile payments to iOS, Android and BlackBerry
Shortly after MasterCard announced plans to become entangled with Google Wallet (and a few months after those ambitious Isis plans were shelved), it looks as if the aforesaid company is diving into yet another mobile payment arena. And this time, it's personal. MasterCard and CSI Enterprises already offer a smattering of customized business cards for those with highly specific needs, and soon that partnership will extend to iOS, Android and BlackBerry OS. We've confirmed that the CSI Virtual MasterCard app is currently scheduled to launch in July, presumably enabling folks with a GlobalVCard to use their mobile device of choice to make payments. What's interesting here is the inclusion of RIM and iOS; there's no BlackBerry device (nor iOS device) on the market today with NFC, which leads us to believe one of two things: that's either changing by July, or this here service won't rely on NFC at all. Needless to say, we'll keep you posted -- nothing like another way to more easily indebt yourself.
Isis mobile payments coming to Austin in 2012
Certain to "Keep Austin Weird," Isis has selected the home of SXSW as its second market for a mobile payment tryout. The joint-venture backed by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless (with help from MasterCard and Visa), will work with local merchants and the Chamber of Commerce to deliver what it calls a "comprehensive mobile experience" by mid-2012. Isis' latest metropolitan recruit joins Salt Lake City in this experiment that will compete with Google Wallet (which is endorsed by Sprint). Quick advice to Austinites: when out-of-towners begin gawking at you for getting "free" lattes and concert tickets by waving your phone about, be sure to explain the wonders of NFC -- it'd be a shame for them to attempt the same -- only to be taken into custody by the Austin PD. Jump the break for the PR.
Google Wallet mobile payment service, Google Offers announced
It may not be as big a surprise as Google hoped it would be at this point, but the company has now officially announced its NFC-based Google Wallet mobile payment service, complete with backing from a number of retail and financial partners including Subway, Macy's, Walgreens, Toys 'R Us, First Data, Citibank and MasterCard -- plus Sprint on the carrier side. In the case of MasterCard, that partnership means Google Wallet will be fully compatible with the PayPass contactless payment system that's already widely in place today. Trials are beginning immediately in New York and San Francisco, with a full release planned for this summer. Initially, the Sprint Nexus S 4G will be the only compatible phone, but support for more phones is promised "over time," and Google even suggested that phones without built-in NFC could simply use an NFC sticker (the Google Wallet app itself will work on non-NFC phones as well). You'll also have to use either a Citi MasterCard or Google Prepaid Card with the service, although the latter can obviously be funded from any other card. Also announced today is Google Offers, which will deliver an "offer of the day" to your inbox, and let you seek out other offers from retailers. Of course, it also ties into Google Wallet, and you'll be able to both redeem offers and receive loyalty rewards from retailers with just a tap of your NFC-enabled phone. As far as Google is concerned, however, mobile payments and special offers are just the beginning for Google Wallet. It eventually sees everything from boarding passes to tickets to IDs (and even keys) being stored on your phone. Not surprisingly, all of this is US-only for the time being, but Google is apparently working on international expansion. Head on past the break for a video and the complete press release. %Gallery-124537%%Gallery-124538%
Orange and Barclaycard launch 'Quick Tap' NFC mobile payments in the UK
Yay for the UK, it's now one step closer to catching up to the Japan of last decade. Mobile carrier Orange is today launching the UK's first mobile phone contactless payment service, dubbed Quick Tap, for purchases up to £15. It works on MasterCard's PayPass system and requires you to have a Barclays debit or credit card or, alternatively, a credit card from Orange itself. Gemalto is providing the SIM-based NFC compatibility, with Samsung's entirely unrevolutionary Tocco Lite being the (admittedly affordable) launch handset. Then you just need to trust the Quick Pay app to be as secure as promised and you'll be ready to go off and use your phone as a payment terminal at over 50,000 locations, including joints run by McDonald's, Eat, Pret A Manger, Subway, and Wilkinson. A quick intro video and a more expansive press release follow after the break.
Isis mobile payment system to work with Visa and MasterCard, shelving plans for its own network
When AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon came together to create the Isis mobile payment system, they touted a standalone service, powered by Discover's payment network, that would revolutionize the way we make small purchases on the move. Well, the revolution is still on schedule, apparently, but the big trio is now being said to have made a concession in reaching out to the incumbent leaders in this field, Visa and MasterCard. The Wall Street Journal cites multiple sources in reporting that Isis has turned into a less ambitious "mobile wallet" project that would seek to let you use your Visa or MasterCard account via your NFC-capable smartphone. As far as the consumer is concerned, it's still the same swipe-to-buy proposition, but the move was apparently necessary for Isis "to avoid falling further behind" in the race to corner this developing market. We'd say it's encouraging to see these guys showing a bit of swiftness -- it's about time the rest of the world caught up to Japan.
PlayStation Network credit card info appears to be safe: 'No unauthorized activity relating to Sony'
It looks like the beleaguered Sony finally caught a break. The company, which has struggled for over a week following a hacker attack that stole massive amounts of player information, says that it looks as though user credit card information remains secure and encrypted. It turns out that Sony had encrypted some personal info but not all of it. Gamespot also reports that several financial companies, including MasterCard, WellsFargo and American Express, have witnessed "no unauthorized activity relating to Sony." Sony's Patrick Seybold passed along the positive news: "The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken. The personal data table, which is a separate data set, was not encrypted, but was, of course, behind a very sophisticated security system that was breached in a malicious attack." Sony's PlayStation Network is still offline while it's rebuilt with a higher level of security. The company saw its shares drop 4.5% today on the Tokyo exchange to $27.71.
Apple Stores stocking Square credit card readers
Jack Dorsey's über-popular credit card readers got a big thumbs-up from Cupertino this week. Square's devices are hitting Apple's 235 US retail locations and Apple.com for $9.95 a pop -- plus the 2.75 percent that the startup takes off the backend each time you use the reader -- or you can always just sign up for a free one over on Square's site. The iPhone / iPad / iPod touch plug-in accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and yes, even American Express. The CEO of VeriFone will no doubt have plenty to say about the matter. Update: It turns out you get a $10 redemption code in the box when you buy a Square reader at an Apple store, so it is still technically free (just not, you know, when you buy it). [Thanks, Michael]
Discover cardholders can send money to anyone with a cell phone, email address
With NFC payment systems just starting to roll out in the US, it'll be awhile yet before you can cut up those credit cards for good. But in the present, at least, you can use your handset to make sure you don't get stuck with a $100 bar tab... again. Discover just announced that it will let its cardholders send money to people in 60 countries -- so long as they have either a cell phone number or email address. As AllThingsD notes, Visa and American Express have hatched similar plans, though Discover is the first of the bunch to partner with PayPal. While people sending money don't need PayPal accounts, people receiving moola do -- or, at least, they must be willing to create one. For senders the service is free and, in fact, they get 0.25 percent cash back for the first $3,000 exchanged. As for Discover, a smaller player than Visa and MasterCard, it hopes some of PayPal's 230 million customers will sign up for a shiny new credit card while they're at it.
Gemalto bringing NFC payments to phones of any intelligence with MasterCard PayPass SIM
We're seeing NFC chips showing up and tickling the innards of more and more mobile devices, but at this rate it's going to be ages before we see some proper market penetration. Gemalto may have just jump-started that process with a new NFC on a SIM card design that's certified by MasterCard PayPass. It's similar to the company's Zuckerberg on a SIM project we heard about last month, but this time it's wirelessly paying for a drink and not wirelessly telling your friends how much you just had to drink. This means near-field wireless payments could be brought to nearly every GSM phone on the planet, also allowing for secure on-device transactions, like adding more minutes to a pre-paid phone. This is said to be the beginning of a "mass commercial roll out," giving us reason to hope that soon forgetting our wallets at home will be a feature and not a bug.
WSJ: Google teams with MasterCard and Citigroup for NFC payments, also files patent app
Ever since the Nexus S and its nifty little NFC chip hit the market, there's been speculation that El Goog was planning a foray into the mobile payment arena currently occupied by the likes of Charge Anywhere. Now, it looks like that plan may be in high gear, as the Wall Street Journal reports that Google's secretly partnered with MasterCard and Citigroup to test out just such a system. According to the publication, the early demo pairs "one current model and many coming models of Android phones" with existing Citigroup-sponsored credit and debit cards, and is using the phones' NFC chips with those VeriFone readers we recently heard about. What's more, a newly-published patent application from the crew in Mountain View may hint at the software behind such things. The application describes a service that sets up Google as a third-party broker who receives the shopping cart info of customers placing orders via a device (including those of the mobile variety), allows them to select shipping and other options, and provides the total order cost. It then collects payment, coordinates shipment, and forwards order information to the seller to complete the transaction. So companies can have Google handle all their payment-taking needs in return for getting a sneak peek at what folks are buying -- something that the WSJ's sources say might be a component of the setup Google's testing right now -- as opposed to other third-party services, like Paypal, that only obtain and exchange payment info with merchants. Looks like Alma Whitten (Google's Director of Privacy) has her work cut out assuaging the concerns such a system will inevitably create in an increasingly privacy-minded populace. Sean Hollister contributed to this report.
Charge Anywhere update turns Nexus S into full-on mobile payment terminal
Processing mobile payments via an external dongle? That's so early 2011. Charge Anywhere has a less troublesome idea, and if you're the lucky owner of a Google Nexus S, you could soon be accepting cold, hard virtual cash via NFC. For those already familiar with the space, you'll know that this very company already has applications out for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices, but all of those obviously require a credit card swiping mechanism to be connected. According to CNET, the latest version will include support for the NFC module embedded within the Nexus S, enabling it to be a full-on mobile payment terminal with no additional hardware required. Both MasterCard PayPass and Visa Blink payments could be ingested, but don't go searching for the update in the Android Market; the company's done with the new build, but it won't be let loose to the public until it's ran past larger customers first. We don't get the impression that the NFC-compatible version will run any more than the $9.99 per month, but it's obviously a wait-and-see affair for now.
