The 'will they' / 'won't they' speculation about Apple enabling the iPhone 5 for NFC goes on. For a long time, it was considered a certainty that the iPhone 5 would include NFC. Then, last week, the Independent reported that the will not, due to a lack of technical standards.
Forbes then quoted an unnamed source at Apple, saying that they would include NFC. The New York Times now reports that Apple will include NFC and that Qualcomm will supply chip - but not necessarily for the upcoming iPhone 5 release. Add to all these conflicting reports the amplification effect of the blogosphere and you have total confusion!
However, what we do know for sure is that Google is enabling Android for NFC and that most headset manufacturers are including a chip in their phones - considering the opportunities inherent in NFC, I am sure Apple won't be too far behind.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Visa Introduces Person-to-Person Payments
Yesterday, Visa announced that it will introduce a person-to-person payment feature. Cardholders from participating banks, will be able to make direct transfers simply by entering an amount and the recipient's 16-digit cardnumber, phone number or email address in their online or mobile bank.
Of course, this feature has been around for many years, and Fast Company reports that over 70 specialist providers already offer the capability. While many of these have the clear advantage of many years experience and a much cooler interface, such as Bump for the iPhone, Visa is the premier payments brand and does have far broader reach than any of these competitors.
As such, this move may not only open up a new opportunity for Visa, but may also facilitate the development of this space for incumbents, such PayPal and Bump.
Most interesting though, is that Visa have had to 'tweak' its payments network and partner with CashEdge and Fiserv to offer a product that has already been in the market for 5 years +. This only illustrates how far behind traditional payments players are with regards to digital money. As mobile payments become increasingly commonplace, it will be interesting to see if they are able to step up their game or if they are outflanked on every front.
Of course, this feature has been around for many years, and Fast Company reports that over 70 specialist providers already offer the capability. While many of these have the clear advantage of many years experience and a much cooler interface, such as Bump for the iPhone, Visa is the premier payments brand and does have far broader reach than any of these competitors.
As such, this move may not only open up a new opportunity for Visa, but may also facilitate the development of this space for incumbents, such PayPal and Bump.
Most interesting though, is that Visa have had to 'tweak' its payments network and partner with CashEdge and Fiserv to offer a product that has already been in the market for 5 years +. This only illustrates how far behind traditional payments players are with regards to digital money. As mobile payments become increasingly commonplace, it will be interesting to see if they are able to step up their game or if they are outflanked on every front.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Interesting Article: Death of the Payments Terminal?
The article from Mobile Payments Today below, describes the limitations of the traditional terminal and how it will soon be replaced by more nimble devices, such as the smartphone.
Essentially, the author argues that it is not hardware limitations that will kill off the terminal, but software limitations. Entrepreneurs and merchants will want to write custom payment applications for niche uses. This is not possible with the current terminal setup, but can easily be implemented with a simple smartphone.
So, what would be the broader implications for merchant acquirers and processors? Clearly, as these devices become lower-cost and run on standard platforms, a number of the traditional barriers to entry will be lowered, and as innovation ramps up, competition within the industry will increase.
http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/blog/5515/Prognosis-terminal-Will-mobile-payments-kill-the-credit-card-terminal?rc_id=400
Essentially, the author argues that it is not hardware limitations that will kill off the terminal, but software limitations. Entrepreneurs and merchants will want to write custom payment applications for niche uses. This is not possible with the current terminal setup, but can easily be implemented with a simple smartphone.
So, what would be the broader implications for merchant acquirers and processors? Clearly, as these devices become lower-cost and run on standard platforms, a number of the traditional barriers to entry will be lowered, and as innovation ramps up, competition within the industry will increase.
http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/blog/5515/Prognosis-terminal-Will-mobile-payments-kill-the-credit-card-terminal?rc_id=400
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Google, Facebook and Apple: Speculation about Payment Moves
Over the last couple of days, the blogosphere has been rife with speculation about the big three tech players' moves in the payment space.
Apple: yesterday a number of newspapers and blogs reported that Apple will not include NFC in the iPhone 5 and postpone its launch til 2012. With Apple's history of popularising new technologies, this is clearly a blow for the NFC-afficionados.
Facebook: over the last few days there have been reports about Facebook Payments, a subsidiary that Facebook appears to have incorporated in Florida in December of last year. According to Facebook itself, this subsidiary is simply intended to handle payments to developers related to its Credits program. However, industry analysts and commentators have interpreted this subsidiary, along with related moves, as a clear indication that Facebook is moving deeper into payments, including offline payments.
Google: today there have been several reports that Google is preparing two NFC pilots; one is NYC and a second in San Francisco. Most commentators agree that Google is likely to use its Nexus S phone, which is currently configured to read NFC tags, but would be 'unlocked' to write tags to facilitate payments.
According to the sources, Google will pay for the installation of “thousands” of NFC-enabled terminals across retail locations in both cities. The report speculates that each user will have not only their purchasing information but coupons, gift-card balances, loyalty cards and other subscriptions loaded onto the phone.
With so much speculation and 'expert testimony', its critical to take all this with a pinch of salt. What is for sure is that there are high expectations for non-tradition, technology players to enter, and revolutionise, the payments space.
We also know that this is a highly complex area, that deals not only with technological and infrastructure complexity, but also with the human psyche, which is notoriously averse to risk and slow at adapting to change. I would therefore not be surprised if mobile payments becomes more of an evolution than a revolution.
Apple: yesterday a number of newspapers and blogs reported that Apple will not include NFC in the iPhone 5 and postpone its launch til 2012. With Apple's history of popularising new technologies, this is clearly a blow for the NFC-afficionados.
Facebook: over the last few days there have been reports about Facebook Payments, a subsidiary that Facebook appears to have incorporated in Florida in December of last year. According to Facebook itself, this subsidiary is simply intended to handle payments to developers related to its Credits program. However, industry analysts and commentators have interpreted this subsidiary, along with related moves, as a clear indication that Facebook is moving deeper into payments, including offline payments.
Google: today there have been several reports that Google is preparing two NFC pilots; one is NYC and a second in San Francisco. Most commentators agree that Google is likely to use its Nexus S phone, which is currently configured to read NFC tags, but would be 'unlocked' to write tags to facilitate payments.
According to the sources, Google will pay for the installation of “thousands” of NFC-enabled terminals across retail locations in both cities. The report speculates that each user will have not only their purchasing information but coupons, gift-card balances, loyalty cards and other subscriptions loaded onto the phone.
With so much speculation and 'expert testimony', its critical to take all this with a pinch of salt. What is for sure is that there are high expectations for non-tradition, technology players to enter, and revolutionise, the payments space.
We also know that this is a highly complex area, that deals not only with technological and infrastructure complexity, but also with the human psyche, which is notoriously averse to risk and slow at adapting to change. I would therefore not be surprised if mobile payments becomes more of an evolution than a revolution.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Apple Drops NFC for iPhone 5
According to a number of newspapers, Apple has revealed to several of the major UK mobile phone operators that it will not include NFC in its iPhone 5.
This is a big blow to mobile payments, as NFC is widely viewed as the most likely platform and Apple was seen as a company that would bring it to the mainstream.
Apple's apparent reason for not including NFC in iPhone 5 is the lack of clear standards. They have therefore decided to postpone their NFC-launch until 2012, which will enable them to develop a set of proprietary standards in the meantime.
Google, along with a whole host of handset manufacturers and carriers, are are still committed to rolling out NFC in 2011, so it will be interesting to see how much headway they will make without Apple's unique ability to launch new technologies to the mainstream.
This is a big blow to mobile payments, as NFC is widely viewed as the most likely platform and Apple was seen as a company that would bring it to the mainstream.
Apple's apparent reason for not including NFC in iPhone 5 is the lack of clear standards. They have therefore decided to postpone their NFC-launch until 2012, which will enable them to develop a set of proprietary standards in the meantime.
Google, along with a whole host of handset manufacturers and carriers, are are still committed to rolling out NFC in 2011, so it will be interesting to see how much headway they will make without Apple's unique ability to launch new technologies to the mainstream.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
The Foursquare + Amex Link-Up Explained
Foursquare has linked up with Amex for a pilot at SXSW, the technology conference in Austin, Texas. By providing their Amex card details, Foursquare users are able to collect specials and trigger donations with purchases at select Austin merchants.
The specials: participating merchants give a $5 credit to Foursquare users who check in at their store and make a purchase of more than $5.
The donations: the first time signed up users swipe their card at any Austin merchant during SXSW, Amex will donate $1 to Grounded in Music, a music-based non-profit.
I truly believe that this is a peak into the future of location-based deals and the path to profitability for Foursquare and its competitors. However, once mobile payments becomes more mainstream, I'm uncertain if they will need Amex. I would essentially expect Foursquare to build its own mobile wallet or PayPal integration that users can register to with the card of their choice.
This approach would open the Foursquare solution up to any user, regardless of whether they have an Amex card or not. Moreover, it would enable Foursquare to leverage its customer relationship to get a foothold in the payments value chain and a piece of the associated revenues.
http://www.businessinsider.com/foursquare-amex-deal-2011-3#the-first-step-is-to-go-to-amexs-sxsw-site-and-sign-up-your-credit-card-1
The specials: participating merchants give a $5 credit to Foursquare users who check in at their store and make a purchase of more than $5.
The donations: the first time signed up users swipe their card at any Austin merchant during SXSW, Amex will donate $1 to Grounded in Music, a music-based non-profit.
I truly believe that this is a peak into the future of location-based deals and the path to profitability for Foursquare and its competitors. However, once mobile payments becomes more mainstream, I'm uncertain if they will need Amex. I would essentially expect Foursquare to build its own mobile wallet or PayPal integration that users can register to with the card of their choice.
This approach would open the Foursquare solution up to any user, regardless of whether they have an Amex card or not. Moreover, it would enable Foursquare to leverage its customer relationship to get a foothold in the payments value chain and a piece of the associated revenues.
http://www.businessinsider.com/foursquare-amex-deal-2011-3#the-first-step-is-to-go-to-amexs-sxsw-site-and-sign-up-your-credit-card-1
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Mobile Wallet: the Battle is Shaping Up
The attached article provides a very interesting perspective on the various players that are aiming to build your mobile wallet.
It assesses 3 different groups:
They will also be better able to leverage platform/network effects than the other players, particularly by triggering innovation through app markets, etc.
This is not to say that carriers and banks will not play a part. Particularly banks will still be a key provider of payments solutions, but probably through the platform providers' payment interface (i.e. Google Checkout or iTunes/iCash). This way, Apple and Google will gain a foothold in the payments market, without having to take ownership of the complexity of the full payments value chain.
Read what the author of the article says.
http://snasm.com/article/nfc-2011-whos-building-your-mobile-wallet?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
It assesses 3 different groups:
- Mobile platform providers (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.)
- Mobile carriers
- Banks
They will also be better able to leverage platform/network effects than the other players, particularly by triggering innovation through app markets, etc.
This is not to say that carriers and banks will not play a part. Particularly banks will still be a key provider of payments solutions, but probably through the platform providers' payment interface (i.e. Google Checkout or iTunes/iCash). This way, Apple and Google will gain a foothold in the payments market, without having to take ownership of the complexity of the full payments value chain.
Read what the author of the article says.
http://snasm.com/article/nfc-2011-whos-building-your-mobile-wallet?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
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