Payments - Wearable Payments Becoming Standard

I have an Apple Watch and have been using it to make payments for years now.  Starbucks, Dunkin, or using Apple Pay at various retailers who accept it through NFC.

Very cool and I always seem to get a reaction from the people around me too.

Well, this is slowly building up and becoming more common.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

It seems like only yesterday the industry first began mulling in-store, in-app and online payments via mobile devices. Now wearables, including smart watches, fitness trackers and other tags, introduce a whole new wrinkle in the space.

The concept of a wearable as a payment system is not new; Wearables enabled with payment capabilities in closed-loop scenarios, like Disney World's Magic Band or similar wearables associated with cruise ships or music festivals, accounted for 82% of wearable-device payments back in 2015. Visa also had a high-profile rollout of NFC payment-enabled bracelets during the 2016 Summer Olympics last year.

Here is the full story:

http://www.retaildive.com/news/study-wearable-payments-on-the-way-to-mainstream/447879/

Happy Reading

J.W. Gant

Payments - Chase and PayPal Join for Mobile Payments

I have no direct knowledge here but I find it curious these two would partner up for mobile payments.

What is the connection between them?

MCX or the Merchant Customer Exchange, recently acquired by Chase.  The technology piece to MCX largely came from Paydiant, purchased by PayPal.

Ding ding.

Read on:

http://www.qrcodepress.com/j-p-morgan-chase-paypal-mobile-payments-deal-announced/8533580/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The Chase Pay service is a form of mobile wallet app launched near the end of 2016. It was released for the purpose of boosting in-store and online purchases using credit and debit cards. The new deal with PayPal mobile payments will have a phased roll out which will be complete by 2018. The two companies are working together to simplify loading J.P. Morgan issued cards into PayPal’s app. It will also make it possible for J.P. Morgan Chase customers to use their rewards points when they use PayPal to pay for their purchases of products and services.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Payments - Is Fast ACH Good for Acquirers?

This week found me with 3 stories in payments that caught my eye.  Here is the first.

Automatic Clearing House or ACH is a way to move money.  Does making that faster help merchant acquirers?

Interesting read:

https://www.paymentssource.com/news/is-faster-ach-a-gold-mine-or-a-minefield-for-acquirers

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Same-day Automated Clearing House transactions exist, in part, as a first step in the faster payments initiatives taking place in the U.S. But are they lucrative enough for acquirers to add to their portfolio?

Even though ACH costs less than credit card interchange, the difference may not be compelling enough to win over merchants that are happy with cards and mobile wallets. But same-day ACH does have a devoted audience — delivering 13 million transactions in the last three months of 2016 — and a growing interest among government agencies and businesses.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0253 Next Generation Stores Today

Best Reading of the Day

Always remember, the folks who want to sell you something will often be willing to write studious analyses to help persuade you to but it.

With that in mind you really should read this, the best read of today, or the month really.

Forget everything we know or think we know about the retail store.  Given the technological shifts we've seen in recent decades with online, social, integrated fulfillment, seemless customer service through digital, mobile, and more, what should the store look like today.

Here is a snippet that provides one view:

Over the next three years, outdoor lifestyle apparel retailer Toad&Co. plans to open 20 new brick and mortar stores.

With news of store closings by powerhouse brands likely swirling around in your head, you may be tempted to make sure you read that number correctly. It’s been dizzying for sure. So why would an apparel retailer be looking to expand its brick and mortar footprint in this environment?

Santa Barbara, CA-based Toad&Co. lives by a simple truth: People enjoy shopping and being in the store, and still want that experience. They just don’t want it to be disconnected from the rest of their purchasing journey.

“We don’t believe brick and mortar is dying,” explained Kelly Milazzo, VP of operations for Toad&Co. ”But we do believe that the consumer expects, and will soon demand, a seamless interaction with the brand.”

Here is the full article:

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/how-make-next-generation-store-right-now-store

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

NewStore of Boston Uses Tech to Help Against Amazon

The next generation store, according to some, is fully integrated with technology.

Demandware eCommerce founder Stephan Schambach is back with a new creation that is mobile first.  Forget eCommerce, it is now all mobile all the time. Everything done on your phone.  Pay, order, delivery, all integrated for the convenience of the customer and whatever retailers or manufacturers sign up.

They just earned a big round of funding so keep an eye on them.

Read more here:

http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2017/07/18/newstore-rings-up-50m-to-help-retailers-win-mobile-influence/

Next up is some thoughts on what the next generation store looks like.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

... and Costco Tames the Amazon Beast ...

Is it possible to "Amazon Proof" your offering?

Maybe.

Maybe Costco has some lessons to teach us.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Costco's June comps show that the retailer is continuing to successfully deflect e-commerce pressure and ride strong momentum as food deflation abates.

For the forty-four weeks ended July 2, the company reported net sales of $104.28 billion, an increase of 6 percent from $98.51 billion during the similar period last year.

U.S. comparable sales in June rose 6.3%. Total worldwide comps were 6.5%.

Costco has been steadily adding locations, growing its membership base (despite fee hikes), and increasing its sales.

Here is the full story:

https://retailleader.com/costco-knows-how-be-amazon-proof

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Amazon Strikes Again ... at the Geek Squad

Best Buy took a big hit, $1B, through its technology service known as Geek Squad when Amazon announced they were launching a competitor.

Call this the Amazon Effect.  When Amazon comes in they blow the doors off the hinges.

Read on:

https://www.recode.net/2017/7/10/15947690/best-buy-stock-drop-amazon-geek-squad-competitor

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Vendor Management for the Cloud World

Cloud based services mean less in-house IT work and more vendors to deal with.

This little article caught my eye as extremely relevant in today's world.  Maybe you'll find a nugget from it that you can use.

I have tons, tons, of vendor management experience for exactly this reason.  If your company doesn't do it in-house you'll be managing a vendor.  Chances are you'll need at least one vendor to help with some competency the in-house team is lacking. If you're a startup or launching a new area in a legacy company, chances are you'll need the help of one or more vendors.

Everyone in tech can get something from this article.

Read on here:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-manage-vendors-in-a-cloud-first-world/

There is an emphasis on service level agreements in this article that is dead on. Read this entire article and think about it a bit.

You get what you pay for, no doubt.  How does the famous project management saying go?

Good.
Cheap.
Fast.
Pick any two.

Yes.  Yes indeed.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Payments Acquisitions - Vantiv Gets Worldpay

In the world of payments this is a huge deal.

How much do you ask?

$10B

No biggie if you want to be positioned for international payments in mobile and P2P and merchant services and more.

Huge news in finance tech.

Here is a piece of the story:

The transaction, valued at about $10 billion, is one of the most significant in the field since the financial crisis. Payment processing has become increasingly important for financial institutions as more people shop online and move money using cellphones or other digital devices.

Here is the full story:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/business/dealbook/worldpay-vantiv

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Facebook Acknowledges Election Manipulation

This is pretty enormous news in the tech world.  I think this is an existential threat to the existence of Facebook and that might be why the Zuck is travelling around the country meeting every day people.  If the Facebook marketing systems can be used in a devious way to push outcomes of Democratic elections that is ... a problem.  Now Facebook itself is stating this happened.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Without saying the words "Russia," "Hillary Clinton," or "Donald Trump," Facebook acknowledged Thursday for the first time what others have been saying for months.

In a paper released by its security division, the company said "malicious actors" used the platform during the 2016 presidential election as part of a campaign "with the intent of harming the reputation of specific political targets."

Here is the entire story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-for-the-first-time-acknowledges-election-manipulation/

My thoughts are this fits with the pattern we continue to see in history, as I've written about previously.  Any new technological advancement will take time before all of the opportunities around that advancement can be figured out.  If nefarious uses are available folks will figure it out and begin using it to advance their interests.  There is no going back, of course, rather we must learn, acknowledge, and adjust.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant