Posts Tagged ‘ amex ’

Google ‘Wallet’ Will Be More Secure Than Plastic Credit/Debit Cards

Image Credit: cloudave.com

Yesterday, the Google Wallet was announced.   given that security has always been the number one concern of consumers, the most important question on people’s mind is, “will it be more secure?”

The short answer is: Yes.

Here’s why:   a Smartphone can be secured on the network of your bank, or the network of your credit card company, or any other network using the exact same technology that secures your smart phone on the network of your mobile phone company.

Do you remember decades ago when fraudulent Continue reading →

2011
05/27
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
Payments & Credit Cards
Telecommunications
4 comments

Google, Mastercard, VeriFone, and (Many) Others Create a Third Mobile Commerce Format

Google, MasterCard, VeriFone, First Data, Citi, Sprint, Bloomingdales, and many others teamed up today.

Google, MasterCard, VeriFone, First Data, Citi, Sprint, Bloomingdales, and many others teamed up today.

Mobile commerce in the United States will have three Mobile commerce products,  each with similar features, similar benefits, similar functions.  However, all three have different sets of partners,  operate on at least two different types of networks, and will certainly have three different delivery systems.   It’s like a triangular boxing ring with the  boxer in each corner:  if two of the three decide to work together, it’s over.

Chapter 3 of the book, The SmartPhone Wallet describes the negative impact that a Continue reading →

2011
05/26
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
Payments & Credit Cards
Telecommunications
8 comments

Will Retailers Use “Tender Steering” to Control Interchange Fees?

A process called “tender steering” is new to most retailers.  It means that a retailer can provide incentives to customers to use a particular type of card to pay.  This method could give retailers the power to drive interchange rates down by driving customers to some types of cards and away from others.

You might think that after half a century of having little or no control over the fees they pay to accept card payments, retailers would be demanding that all mobile commerce products and NFC-enabled systems support tender steering.  They are not.  Retailer associations have been virtually silent on the topic, and there are no reports of major retailer pushing this service.

Continue reading →

2011
04/27
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
mobile wallet
Payments & Credit Cards
10 comments

Combining Payments and Loyalty Programs

(c) 2010-2011 by David W. Schropfer

Interpretation of a Possible Isis Mobile Wallet Design

The first pictures of the Isis mobile wallet are probably many months away from being released to the public. No, the image on the left is neither from Isis nor endorsed by Isis, but it has merit based on recent public statements from the company.

Last week, two executives on the Isis management team discussed critical elements of the company’s future product, specifically:

-A Convenient User Interface;

-Integration between payments and digital loyalty (including coupons and advertising), and;

-Open format for payment schemes, banks, credit unions, even transit systems.

Jim Stapleton, the new head of sales and account management for the joint venture, was joined by Sarab Sokhey of Verizon, an advisor and lead consultant for Isis, at the Mobile and Transit Payments Summit in Salt Lake City, hosted by the Smart Card Alliance.

In his keynote address, Mr. Stapleton said: Continue reading →

2011
02/24
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
Payments & Credit Cards
Telecommunications
2 comments

PayPal Rolls Out Micropayments- Is Brick & Mortar Next?

This is how PayPal could offer micropayments at B&M retailers. Everything except the dotted lines exist today.

PayPal’s announcement yesterday rolls out micropayments (transactions under $12) for online purchases, and further improves their position for a large stake in the mobile payments arena. But how would they leverage this micropayment capability at a brick-and-mortar store? One possibility is the ‘do-it-yourself’ approach, as shown in the diagram. The multi-billion dollar system that supports standard formats like MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express are based on two things: Continue reading →

2011
02/11
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
Payments & Credit Cards
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Starbucks Mobile Payments and…the NRA?

Starting today, my wallet will forever stay in my pocket at Starbucks.  That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop buying Starbucks coffee; it means that I can finally feed my caffeine addiction using only my SmartPhone.

When Starbucks Coffee announced yesterday that over 6,800 of its locations would accept mobile payments, there was a significant amount of buzz in the press.   This morning, I used this service for the first time.

My first unfortunate impression was that the philosophy behind Starbucks mobile payment was reminiscent of the philosophy of the National Rifle Association (NRA).   This requires some explanation, obviously, so here it is: Continue reading →

2011
01/20
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
Payments & Credit Cards
1 comment

Will Mobile Payments Become a Format War?

Mobile Payment products either use the current payment system, or challenge the current payment system.

It is called a “Format War.”  Two or more companies with different products compete for your attention.  Of course, as a consumer, you get to choose the product you want.  If you don’t like it, certainly you are free to switch to another product. However, since companies know this, they can make it incredibly cumbersome for you to do so.

Mobile Payments could be heading toward a format war, and the first casualty could be consumer privacy.  On one side are all of the mobile wallet and mobile payment products that are based on the existing payments system in use around the world today.  On the other side are alternatives to the existing payment system, which could bypass the processors or schemes that are the backbone of the payment system. Continue reading →

2011
01/10
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
4 comments

The SmartPhone Wallet is Now Available

A torrent of advertising and promotional marketing is heading your way to try to get you to use new services on your SmartPhone at retail stores.  Perhaps you have already seen some, or signed up for some.

At stake is the future of the credit card system that moves over $11 Trillion per year from consumers to retailers. Some of the largest companies in the world think this system should change, starting now.  Other, equally large companies think everything should stay the same.

And these two sides are already lining up on a battlefield, with you standing in the middle.  And, if you are not careful, the first casualty will be your privacy.

Continue reading →

2010
12/30
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CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
Payments & Credit Cards
Telecommunications
4 comments

How ISIS Could Challenge Visa and MasterCard

Michael Abbott, Isis CEO

Michael Abbott, Isis CEO (Photo: Business Wire)

Washington at Yorktown. Grant at Vicksburg.  Abbott at San Francisco?

Michael Abbott is the new CEO of the joint venture announced yesterday by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless.  The name of the venture is ISISTM and their primary charter is building a national mobile commerce network that aims to “fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save,” according to a press release from the company.

To do that, Abbott will need to create an environment for San Francisco-based Visa (and the other payment giants) that will eventually present them with the same ultimatum which Washington and Grant gave to their opponents: Starve or surrender. Continue reading →

2010
11/18
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
abbott
isis
Mobile Payments
mobile wallet
Payments & Credit Cards
Telecommunications
2 comments

PayPal and VeriFone: Subtle Announcement, Sweeping Implications

Verifone's Paypal-Supported PAYware

Verifone's Paypal-Supported PAYware

Enjoy your holiday shopping this year; it could be the last time you reach for your wallet to pay for all of those gifts.

A week ago, conventional wisdom would have dictated that Americans would need to wait at least five years before such a reality were even possible, never mind widely available. On October 27, 2010 all of that changed when PayPal (the largest alternative financial institution in the world) signed an agreement with VeriFone (the largest producer of credit card acceptance devices for retailers in the US). Continue reading →

2010
11/02
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Mobile Payments
3 comments