mobilepayments
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Groupon reportedly experimenting with Square competitor
Square, PayPal, Intuit, Verifone -- the mobile payments field (and we're not talking wallets here) is seriously crowded already. So, the question is then, why on Earth would Groupon want to join the fray? We're not entirely sure, but VentureBeat is reporting the coupon service is preparing to do just that. According to a source within the company, Groupon is testing card-reading dongle and payment platform with surprisingly aggressive pricing. According to the insider, transaction fees will be 1.8 percent, on top of a $0.15 base charge. By comparison, square charges a flat 2.75 percent. Interestingly, the source also claims that Groupon is handing out, not just free readers, but free iPod touches to plug them into. The move makes obvious sense since the company snatched up Kima Labs, makers of TapBuy, in February. Besides, it could easily integrate its discount offers with the platform as a value added service. None of this is confirmed just yet but, we certainly wont be surprised if this rumor pans out.
Google Wallet: one year later
The rumors and leaks go back a bit further, but it was a year ago today that Google officially revealed its Google Wallet mobile payment service -- a platform that the company is still betting big on, even if it may be slightly reconsidering the way it does business. While it might not have taken off quite as quickly as Google would have liked, the past year has still been a fairly eventful one for the service -- albeit occasionally for reasons the company would prefer you forget -- and the next year proves to be even more challenging as the service faces increased competition. Read on for a look back at how we got here, and what lies ahead for both Google Wallet and mobile payments in general.
PayPal lines up 15 retailers for mobile payments, will let you buy Jamba Juice smoothies with a smartphone
Although PayPal's mobile payment system started out small with a Home Depot deal, that snowball is quickly rolling itself into a boulder. Starting next month, 15 extra US retailers will be happy to see you slap down your smartphone (not literally, we hope) instead of a credit card. The selection leads us to think a lot of smartphone owners like to shop for wearables -- Aéropostale, Foot Locker and JC Penney are in the batch, along with others -- but there's a few useful exceptions, like Barnes & Noble, Jamba Juice and TigerDirect. At least a total of 20 merchants are expected by the end of year, and as with Home Depot, you won't need special hardware besides an Android or iOS device to spend your hard-earned cash. We'll just be thankful we won't have to buy our yogurt with actual cash, like savages.
Rogers and CIBC make joint deal for NFC mobile payments in Canada, let you check out with your BlackBerry
Canadians sometimes can't catch a break: while NFC payments have been relatively common for Americans, Europeans and certainly the Japanese, Canucks have had to largely make do paying with ye olde credit carde. Rogers and national bank CIBC want to put an end to these antediluvian ways: starting later this year, CIBC card holders will just need to swipe an NFC-equipped BlackBerry like the Bold 9900 (Bold 9930 for CDMA-loving Americans) at a matching terminal to pay at a given store. The only special requirement is a secure SIM card that gives customers the freedom to change phones, even if it does create problems switching banks or carriers down the line. We're just hoping that Android and other platforms get the same treatment and let more of our Canadian friends pay for poutine that much faster.
Isis partners with Austin and Salt Lake City merchants, throws John Stockton elbow at Google Wallet
Mobile payment system Isis continues to rack up passengers on its merry bandwagon, gaining support from local merchants in two cities for its NFC wallet service. The carrier-based program announced that hundreds of merchant locations in Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah are entering the Isis fold -- joining national entities such as Coca-Cola and Macy's in its initial list of partners. The selection of participating local businesses runs the gamut from cafes and restaurants to a country club and the Utah Jazz. The platform has already corralled support from handset makers, point-of-sale terminal purveyors and credit card companies such as American Express. Expect some Mortal Kombat action for your mobile purse strings between Google Wallet and Isis once the latter launches this summer. In the meantime, check out the obligatory PR after the break.
99Bill produces first iPhone credit card reader in China
99Bill, a leading electronic financial service provider in China, is launching a new mobile payment solution that looks surprisingly familiar. The square-shaped 99Bill Card Reader plugs into the audio jack of your iPhone or Android device and lets merchants accept credit card and bank card payments on the go. The company is hoping to take advantage of the growing interest in mobile payments and smartphones, which are taking China by storm. Show full PR text 99Bill's Smartphone Card Reader to Enable Massive Mobile Payment in China 99BILL CORPORATION CARD READER 99Bill's Smartphone Card Reader to Enable Massive Mobile Payment in China. (PRNewsFoto/99Bill Corporation) BEIJING, CHINA BEIJING, May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- 99Bill Corporation, China's leading electronic financial service provider, announced the official launch of its new mobile payment product 99Bill Card Reader. By simply plugging the tiny 99Bill Card Reader into Smartphone audio jack, merchants can accept bank card and credit card payments on the go, and make more sales quickly. The patented solution supports both iOS and Android platforms. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120508/CN02862) Statistics shows that China has huge demands for card present transactions, but still lags behind other markets around the developed world where POS devices are extremely common. According to People's Bank of China, the nation had issued a total of nearly 3 billion bank cards by the end of 2011, an increase of 22% from the previous year. Meanwhile, there were only 3.18 million merchants using a total of 4.82 million POS devices in China. The 99Bill Card Reader creates an entirely new card present payment solution for merchants and consumers by tuning smartphones into POS devices. According to iResearch, China's leading internet-based research firm, there were a total of 72.1 million smart phones being sold in 2011 alone, an increase of 103.1% over the previous year, and this trend is expected to continue in 2012 with an estimated 113 million being sold throughout the year. The increasing penetration of mobile devices gives 99Bill Card Reader a natural edge in this market segment. With 99Bill's patented technology, the 99Bill card reader solution supports both pass code and signature based bank card transactions. This is especially important in the China market, where pass code enabled bank cards are the most common. Oliver Kwan, CEO of 99Bill, said, "We always position ourselves as a comprehensive B2B and B2C payment solution provider for business customers. This Card Reader can significantly increase the number of bank card acceptance devices in China and give our business customers more choices to accept payments. We will continue to introduce more innovative payment solutions that really work, and help our customer grow their business." The 99Bill Card Reader takes advantage of the convenience and ubiquitous nature of mobile devices to enable mobile selling for large companies and face-to-face transactions for small-to-medium size businesses. The first commercial use of such a product in mainland China, 99Bill has already signed agreements with three insurance companies to support their mobile sales forces. In China's mobile payment market, 99Bill has introduced a wide range of innovative products over times, including WAP, IVR, and InAPP based mobile payment services. As China's leading provider of electronic financial services, 99Bill provides a comprehensive suite of electronic payment solutions that are actively used in 20 major industries, including airline, online and offline retail, insurance, education, logistics, etc. In 2011, the company obtained the six payment service licenses issued by the People's Bank of China, the most of any e-payment company in the industry.
Isis bolsters its mobile wallet with American Express cards
The carrier-backed Isis mobile payment service added a batch of new financial partners earlier this year, and it's now back with another fairly big addition. The venture announced today that it has brought American Express' various credit card offerings into the fold (including the company's own mobile-linked Serve cards), which will let users of those cards load them into the Isis app and make payments with their NFC-equipped smartphone -- when the service begins its rollout this summer, that is. As you may recall, American Express itself had already signed on as an Isis partner last year, but this is the first time that the company has committed to tying its cards to the platform -- which is a rather important little detail.
99Bill smartphone card reader pushes mobile payments for China, pretends it's never heard of Square
Jostling for attention among a crowd of China-focused smartphone card readers, 99Bill's card reader has now been officially revealed. It plugs into your headphone jack and communicates with apps on both iOS and Android. The familiar-looking reader supports both passcode and signature security -- China matches several European countries where passcode cards are the more common option. The company has already hooked up with three insurance companies, but it's keeping quiet on the rates it'll charge per transaction and any further expansion plans. 99Bills lays down why it should be your go-to choice for smartphone payments in mainland China right after the break.
VeriFone outs Sail mobile payment system, gives Square the evil eye
VeriFone has decided that calling out claimed security holes and focusing on enterprise-level payment options aren't enough to take on Square. Sail goes more directly for Square's jugular, using its own plug-in dongle to handle major credit card payments in your local coffee shop or a mid-sized outlet. The VeriFone party trick comes through having multiple payment options, where shopkeeps can either choose to pay a flat 2.7 percent cut of every sale, or shell out a $10 monthly fee to lower the transactional take to 1.95 percent. Programming interfaces will let you hook in deals from social networks, too. And as you might expect, the company is still keen to tie Sail to its traditional payment systems, opening the door to NFC readers as well as other payment hardware that isn't quite as mobile. Stores with iPhones will be the only ones using the free Sail mobile apps and readers at first, but Android- and iPad-toting entrepreneurs will have their alternative to Square or PayPal Here as soon as the end of May.
MasterCard introduces PayPass Wallet Services, Online and API at CTIA 2012
MasterCard's PayPass is certainly one of the bigger players in the contactless payment scene. But, simply putting a few thousand branded payment terminals in stores across the nation isn't enough. The next step is expanding that empire, not only in terms of locations and handsets, but by turning the phone into just an accessory in a larger ecosystem. PayPass Wallet Services is a new umbrella product that includes an online payment system, a branded service and an API that allows developers to integrate PayPass into their own proprietary offerings. Simply put, PayPass is no longer a product, but a platform. The service remembers not only credit cards, but shipping addresses and other identifying info that streamlines the shopping process, while the API means that others can build value added offerings around PayPass. There's even a dedicated Android app. The company is hoping to have the system ready for a broad roll out by the third quarter of the year. When that time comes, a pile of partners have pledged to support it in various ways. The names on that list should ring at least a few bells: Intel, Barnes & Noble, Newegg, MLB and American Airlines. It all seems pretty impressive (though, we'll reserve judgement till we get to try it out). Your move, Google. Zachary Lutz contributed to this report
V.me by Visa coming to the Europe this autumn, cash starts begging for another chance
Visa Europe is muscling in on the European mobile payments game with V.me. The online service will allow you to store cards from different agencies (including American Express) for payments online and at NFC-enabled cash registers. It is expected to arrive in the UK, Spain and France in the Autumn, but it'll sadly be too late for it to gain any traction, since we'll have worked out how to glue PayTag stickers to our forehead by then.
T.G.I. Friday's to let diners pay with their iPhones
In here, it's always Friday®, and you can always pay for your food and booze with your iPhone. Casual dining chain T.G.I. Friday's has announced that iPhone owners can now use a mobile payment option called Tabbedout to pay their bills. The option is part of a free mobile app called Friday's that came out a few days ago. You'll be able to launch the app and enter your credit card info as a payment option. Once you're ready to pay up, the app will use the credit card on file to settle your bill. At this point, the Friday's app can be used in 350 of the 600 T.G.I Friday's restaurants. It's expected that many franchisee-owned restaurants will sign on. Tabbedout has integrated their service with seven of the biggest restaurant point of sale providers. In the case of T.G.I. Friday's, that provider is Micros, and the integration allows a customer to pay their bill without waiting for a server to bring it to the table. Tabbedout recently partnered with PayPal to provide another payment option for users, and has a free app available that allows iPhone owners to pay up at a small, but growing number of other restaurants and bars.
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.
MBTA and Masabi team up for first smartphone rail ticketing system in the US, launching in Boston this fall
In Boston this fall, you won't need to keep up with your train ticket anymore -- as long as you don't leave your smartphone at home. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Masabi have joined forces to bring a rail ticketing to handheld devices via iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps. Headquartered in London, Masabi has launched similar tech for transit companies in the UK, eliminating ticket lines for many smartphone-wielding passengers. Software will allow riders to purchase tickets and passes that are validated with a barcode scan by conductors equipped with mobile devices of their own. MBTA is looking to cut costs and provide added convenience with the new system instead of adding more ticketing kiosks to its stations. The aforementioned apps will be developed alongside focus groups and a small pilot group this summer with a full rollout to all MBTA customers expected to happen this fall. Looking for a bit more info? Hit the coverage and source links below to read on. [Image credit: Masabi on Flickr]
Barclays releases PayTag: the NFC card you glue to your phone (video)
If you don't have a fancy NFC-enabled phone then it's hard to join the mobile wallet club. Fortunately, Barclays has introduced the PayTag that turns any phone into a contactless card. It's a square of plastic a quarter the size of a credit card that's sticky on one side -- yup, you just jam it on the back of your phone and hey presto, you can buy sandwiches, or any purchase up to £15 (£20 from June), without opening your wallet. The sticky squares will be rolling out exclusively to British Barclaycard customers over the next few months, although we're not sure what it'll do to the trade-in value of your handset.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 2nd, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, CyanogenMod gained a new logo, Google acquired a mobile payments company and we learned that the HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint will include an embedded SIM card. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of April 2nd, 2012.
Sprint LG Viper 4G goes on pre-order April 12 for $100, release date still TBA
Sprint's finally starting to get the ball rolling with its first LTE devices, announcing this morning that it's ready to begin pre-orders of the LG Viper 4G on April 12, and the next-gen goodness can be yours for $100 (after $50 mail-in rebate). The actual release date wasn't specified, but at least we know this means it's coming up much sooner rather than later. As a refresher, the Viper comes with Gingerbread, a 4-inch WVGA NOVA display, a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon S3, 1GB of RAM, NFC and Google Wallet functionality, a microSD slot, 50GB cloud storage from Box and a smattering of eco-friendly features. For the full rundown, gaze upon the press release below.
Square's Card Case rechristened 'Pay with Square,' is first to bring geo-fenced hands-free payments to Android
You might know Square for accepting payments on your smartphone via a cute dongle, but you're probably less familiar with its second offshoot, Card Case -- a separate app that has enabled hands-free and NFC-free payments at over 70,000+ merchants for more than a year now. That effort is getting a complete overhaul today, cumulating in an entire rethink of the app and experience, in addition to its more-apt new title: Pay with Square. The redesigned UI loses its former card and leather-based garnish, opting instead for a simplified list of merchants sorted by distance and relevancy. Also making its debut is a search box, a spiffy map view and the ability to share merchants to friends through text, email or Twitter. We're most excited, though, for feature parity across iPhone and Android, which means formerly iOS-exclusive features like the auto-creation of tabs at pre-approved venues (thanks to iOS 5's geo-fencing APIs) are now present to green little robots everywhere. That's no small feat, as the company's had to roll their own geo-location API to pick up where Google's left off. Excited? Get your download on in the source links below.
