Money 20/20, Chase Bank and CurrentC

All of the money is in Vegas this week as Money 20/20 roars in to 2015.  This is the big industry trade show for all things "money".

The biggest news so far is a new mobile wallet by Chase with the retail backing of MCX and the CurrentC wallet.

Here is one article on this news:

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Chase-Unveils-Chase-Pay_-a-Mobile-Wallet-That-Will-Work-at-Merchants-Accepting-CurrentC

Here is a snippet from that piece:

JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Monday unveiled its Chase Pay mobile wallet and said the product will begin rolling out in the middle of next year. Chase also said its new wallet will be accepted at merchants belonging to the Merchant Customer Exchange LLC, a retailer-controlled consortium that has been testing its own wallet, CurrentC, in Columbus, Ohio.

CNBC had a piece on the growing criticality of mobile wallets:

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/26/the-latest-in-the-battle-to-own-your-digital-wallet.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:\

The battle to own your digital wallet is on.

2016 will be a pivotal year for mobile payments, with total transaction values jumping 210 percent, according to eMarketer. Why? Mobile wallets — like Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay and MCX — will become standard features on smartphones and more merchants will adopt point-of-sale systems that can accept mobile payments.

It makes sense then that this is a big story at Money20/20 in Las Vegas.

Here is one more article on this:

http://www.pymnts.com/news/2015/chase-pay-mobile-wallet-launches-with-mcx-as-a-partner/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Great little analysis came out today about the recent CurrentC news:
http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/How-MCX_s-Deals-with-Chase-Pay-And-BIM-Networks-Help-Fill-a-Tender-Gap-in-CurrentC

Here is a snippet from that piece:

With two strokes of the pen, Merchant Customer Exchange LLC has addressed one glaring weakness in its mobile wallet. By announcing a deal this week with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s brand-new Chase Pay mobile-payments service and two weeks ago with a little-known New York City-based app provider called BIM Networks Inc., MCX brought open-loop and store-branded automated clearing house payments to its fledgling CurrentC service.

Next up is the press release of the keynote by the CEO of MCX:

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151029006424/en/2015-Money2020-Keynote-Address-MCX-CEO-Brian

Happy Halloween!

MasterCard Chief Says Not to Believe the Apple Pay Hype

Want to know what the major payments networks really think of Apple Pay?  We have some idea now thanks to the global chief of MasterCard.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/dont-believe-the-hype-on-apple-pay-says-mastercard-global-chief-20150325-1m302w.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

MasterCard's global chief, Ajay Banga, has not yet seen a good reason for people to ditch their credit cards for mobile devices.

"If you add value, people will do it. But if all you are doing is saying 'instead of reaching in your pocket and taking out your card, well, now you are going to take out your phone and wave it' – I don't know what you are solving," he said, pointing out habits and cultural norms change much slower than technology.

Instead of being disrupted, the incumbent payment network, along with fellow global giants Visa and American Express, has so far remained integral to the numerous tech players' push into payments – including Apple, Samsung and Google's Android – and they are assisting its growth.

Want any substantive change in payments?  It doesn't appear to be happening here.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

MasterCard Enables In-Store Payments In-App

MasterCard is working with restaurants now to get their MasterPass in to the retailer's app so customers can pay for their meals in the store's app.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/wagamama-lets-restaurant-patrons-pay-for-meals-via-mobile-app

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Wagamama, a British pan-Asian casual restaurant chain, is teaming up with MasterCard to let customers use a mobile application to pay for meals, adding speed and convenience to the dining experience.

The Qkr! app with MasterPass will let customers who are in a hurry pay as soon as they wish. The app, now available to use in 112 wagamama restaurants in the United Kingdom, points to the mobile mind shift’s role in raising consumer expectations for the service industry.

Everyone wants to have their digital payments solutions, in-app, in the store some way some how. This effort does not include any kind of loyalty offering so far so it falls far short of what Starbucks has accomplished to date.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Pay

What does Apple Pay mean for mobile payments?

Quite a bit.

With Apple sitting on the sidelines the last few years there has been a headwind to any effort in this space.  The wait and see approach has been preferable to many, and the most affluent and innovative mobile consumers (largely) have been staying with Apple.

That all changed yesterday.

Clearly this will have ramifications throughout the space.  This is validation for efforts towards mobile payments.  The biggest players, including the biggest credit card companies and the largest banks, are all united on this path.  I view it as a sustaining move by the issuers and credit card companies.  They want to see things continue exactly as they are.

What about the merchants?

If you have great margins, as the luxury companies do, or speed is incredibly important for you, or you want/need your brand to be tied to a brand viewed as high-quality, this is good for you.  We've seen the companies announced and that matches perfectly.  What about the masses though?  Lower margins mean the existing payments networks are a terrible drain for you.  That is where CurrentC by MCX comes in.

I see this playing out along the lines of the wealth divide in the United States.  Apple with other luxury brands will ignite Apple Pay and NFC.  Meanwhile, CurrentC will grow amongst the largest retailers in the world.  Things should be pretty interesting the next few years.

Here are a couple articles that provide some perspective.

"New iPhones Will Get us Half Way to Mobile Payments"
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-09/new-iphones-will-get-us-halfway-to-mobile-payments

"How Apple's iPhone 6 Can Finally Make Mobile Payments Happen"
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-05/how-apples-iphone-6-can-finally-make-mobile-payments-happen

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Payments - NFC, Amex, MasterCard, and VISA?

Wow.

The rumor mill is certainly churning with anticipation building ahead of Apple's announcement in Cupertino on September 9.

The biggest news I'm hearing that doesn't concern a wearable device such as an iWatch regards the following (all rumors until Sept 9):

• The new iPhone will contain a NFC chip to enable payments in close proximity.
• Apple has signed a deal with VISA for mobile payments.
• Apple has signed a deal with both MasterCard and VISA for mobile payments.
• Apple has signed a deal with American Express for mobile payments.

Wow.

Pretty intense rumor mill regarding Apple finally embracing NFC technology, something I've been extremely skeptical of to date.  You can't just ignore a firestorm of rumors though so September 9 should be fun, as we expected it would be.

Here is one excellent article by Karen Webster worth reading if you follow mobile payments:

http://www.pymnts.com/news/2014/whos-on-your-2014-fantasy-payments-team/#.VAW2hcVdX9Z

The American Express rumor:

http://recode.net/2014/08/31/apple-9-9/

The MasterCard and VISA rumor:

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/emerging-payments/apple-said-to-team-up-with-visa-mastercard-on-iphone-wallet-3019019-1.html

How many days left until the event?  Once again Apple has succeeded in building interest for their product launch.  Seems to be a strong feed of information from the supply chain yet again but the main points may have nothing to do with the hardware this time.  That is an opportunity for Apple to regain some of its vaunted secrecy ahead of a product launch.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Good article here that lays out the entire story:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/what-is-nfc-and-why-does-it-matter-for-the-iphone-6-96456683964.html?src=rss

**UPDATE #2** Another good article on this story stated merchants will decide whether or not Apple's foray in to payments will be successful.  True, unless consumer demand forces acceptance, a difficult trick to pull off.
http://blogs.forrester.com/denee_carrington/14-09-04-merchants_will_decide_the_fate_of_apples_mobile_wallet

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0086 Mobile Payments Revolution?

The people at Mobile Commerce Daily have a good piece on the revolution coming through mobile payments.  The title says a lot:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/payments-companies-will-mobile-end-the-party

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Most multichannel players do a majority of their business offline in their stores but find that online is growing faster than in-store. The payment businesses are categorized into several areas such as issuers, acquirers, processors and others.

What is fascinating is the huge difference in the respective mechanics of how each of these segments creates enterprise value. And, specifically, how mobility disrupts the payments business.

Is mobile technology the silver bullet that has finally arrived which will change the rules and be a catalyst for redistribution of value creation from the payments players to the merchant segment?

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

News: MasterCard, Apple iBeacons, and an Amazon.com Competitor

Three points of news I found quite interesting.

First is news by MasterCard on the acquisition of a mobile wallet company:

http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/article/228433/MWC14-MasterCard-picks-up-m-wallet-developer-C-SAM-partners-with-German-telcos

Here is a snippet from that piece:

MasterCard chose the February 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to announce its acquisition of mobile wallet provider C-SAM. The global payments firm also said it is adding support for in-app payments to its MasterPass digital wallet, and announced a German m-payments partnership with Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Vodafone, and a geo-location service with Syniverse Technologies.

Next is a quick bit on Apple's iBeacons for BLE Technology:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/25/apple-releases-ibeacon-specifications-under-nda/

Here is a snippet from that one:

Apple has just released the iBeacon specifications for everyone who is a member of the MFi program, Apple’s program for hardware partners (“Made for iPhone program”, etc.). You’ll have to sign an NDA to read the specifications. BEEKn first spotted the news. The company also reiterates that you can’t use the iBeacon brand without prior consent. You have to register to the MFi program, submit a request and get approved by Apple. It’s free for now.

Finally is a bit of investment advice by Cramer from CNBC:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101443994

Is that what the future state of eCommerce looks like?  Will we see, rather than one giant eCommerce system, many competitors that all differentiate via excellence in one slice of retail?  That makes sense.  Here is a snippet from that piece:

CNBC's Jim Cramer says he's finally found a company that can beat Amazon at its own game: Zulily, the online shopping portal that offers daily deals for moms and children.

"This is the first company that has said 'we can beat Amazon,' and I believe them," Cramer said Tuesday on "Squawk on the Street." "I think they can beat Amazon. Why? Because they are a technology company in the women's apparel business. It's a revolutionary company. I urge everyone to take a look at ZU."

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

NFC and ISIS News Impacts Mobile Payments

Yesterday's news informed us of moves by MasterCards and Visa to circumvent the need for mobile carrier security in mobile payments.

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/4530

This is a major blow, and some would argue the final nail in the coffin, for ISIS.  The carrier solution to mobile payments now has no reason for being, essentially.

This take on the subject questions the viability of ISIS following the move by the major credit companies:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mobile-payments-smackdown-did-google-wallet-just-outplay-isis

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The Host Card Emulation feature in Android KitKat for driving near-field communications mobile payments just got a big boost in the form of support from MasterCard and Visa, which could spell trouble for Isis.

One last article speaks of the new forms of payment now opening up because of this move:

http://www.realcleartechnology.com/articles/2014/02/20/coming_soon_a_new_way_to_pay_with_your_phone_989.html

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

New Collaboration for Mobile Payments - Visa, MasterCard, and American Express

The pot keeps getting stirred as more and more players work more and more angles in the mobile payments space.

Two days ago Visa, MasterCard, and American Express announced a partnership to develop a new global standard for mobile payments.  Mobile Commerce Daily has some information on this:

mobile-payments-power-play-faces-significant-challenges

Here is a snippet from that article:

By teaming up to create a new standard that would streamline mobile payments, leading card networks Visa, MasterCard and American Express hope to ensure a prominent role in smartphone and tablet transactions while also driving overall adoption by consumers and retailers.

Very interesting news.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant