BRotD - Entry 0260 Strategy of Apple Pay

Best Reading of the Day

Mobile payments has been something very close to my professional activities for many years now. I've competed directly against Apple and their Apple Pay product.  Where are they headed now?

Here is a snippet from the piece:

There’s a reason everyone seems to be getting into mobile payments. Thanks to increasing smartphone usage and a push for faster, simpler, more secure financial transactions, mobile payments could become a $3.4 trillion industry by 2022. In the U.S. last year, eMarketer estimated it to be a $49 billion market already.

The consumer options are sundry: There’s Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay; PayPal, Venmo, Square, and Square Cash; bank-backed alternatives like Zelle and Chase Pay; and in-app options through things like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. As consumers abandon cash, checks, and even credit cards, everyone is jumping into mobile payments—but perhaps none with the zeal of Apple.

Here is the full story:

https://slate.com/technology/2018/07/apple-pay-can-apple-beat-paypal-venmo-in-mobile-payments-war.html

What do retailers think?

From the start the response was mixed.  Some feel any place their customer is at they want to be as well.  Another, however, stated their mix of credit to debit was such that if mobile pay, primarily funded with credit cards, caused that mix to flip it would be billions of dollars a year lost.  That is big time incentive to work in the space right (they are)?

This is one space with entrenched, well funded and organized interests, and tons of money at stake.  Apple won't see the players in this space fold like the music industry did.  I see this space continuing to be hyper-competitive for the foreseeable future.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Merchant Mobile Payments Leading the Way

This is not surprising to those of us who follow mobile.  We haven't seen game-changing success by tech companies looking to reinvent the way people pay, but we have seen success by individual merchants.

Read on:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/merchants-digital-wallets-leading-the-migration-to-mobile-payments-report

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Merchants are having a bigger impact on shoppers’ payments behaviors and encouraging the transition to mobile compared to universal wallets such as Apple Pay, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group.

A growing number of merchants are offering their own branded mobile wallets and incentivizing the use of them through offers and loyalty, something universal wallets have not taken advantage of as much. As a result, merchants are better positioned to change customer behavior and become preferred payment options, according to the report, Merchant Mobile Wallets: Mobile Payments in Action.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Pay Declines

PYMTS.com has been working with a retail tracking company to follow the progress of Apple Pay and to garner some numbers the folks at Cupertino aren't interested in providing.  How is Apple Pay doing, in the store, among the addressable market, those who own an iPhone 6?

Here is the story:

http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2015/apple-pay-adoption-the-falling-side-of-the-bell-curve/#.VcNhfPNVhBc

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Disturbing Declines

In March, survey data indicated that 15.1 percent of eligible Apple Pay users had tried the service – when surveyed in June 2015 that had fallen to 13.1 percent.

Usage fell as well – when asked in March, “Did you use Apple Pay on this transaction,” 39.3 percent of consumers said yes. When asked the same question in June, only 23 percent replied in the affirmative.

“These are people who have tried it, who just had a chance to use it because they were at their phone and were at a merchant who accepted it – but they just didn’t choose to use Apple Pay,” Jared Schrieber, CEO of InfoScout, told the assembled at R2 while explaining the figures.

With quotes from representatives from Paydiant (PayPal), Samsung Pay (LoopPay), and LevelUp this is a good article to read on loyalty, mobile payments, the digital wallet, and more.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Payments News - Samsung Pay and PayPal with Paydiant

What a news day for mobile payments and I'm out of the country on business.

The folks over at Re/Code have it all.  Here is news of the new Samsung Galaxy and 'Samsung Pay'.

http://recode.net/2015/03/01/first-look-samsung-galaxy-s-6-galaxy-s-6-edge-finally-gets-a-premium-design/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Last month, Samsung acquired a U.S.-based startup called LoopPay to launch a new mobile payments solution to compete with the likes of Apple Pay. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will be the first devices to incorporate that technology, though the feature won’t be available right at launch.

Called Samsung Pay, the technology is based on something called Magnetic Secure Transmission.

Here is news of PayPal's acquisition of Paydiant, the technology company behind MCX's CurrentC:

http://recode.net/2015/03/02/paypal-to-pay-280-million-for-paydiant-the-startup-behind-walmarts-apple-pay-competitor/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

PayPal isn’t giving up on payments in brick-and-mortar stores.

The eBay payment unit plans to acquire Paydiant, a payments startup that licenses a technology platform used by big retail chains to create their own branded mobile wallet apps. Multiple sources said PayPal will pay around $280 million for the Wellesley, Mass.-based startup. PayPal declined to comment on the price.

Founded in 2010, Paydiant’s white-label platform is used by Subway and other retailers and banks to add payment, loyalty and digital-coupon capabilities to their own apps. Its customer list also includes MCX, a consortium of big-box retailers led by Walmart that says it will launch its own mobile wallet app, CurrentC, later this year.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  Adding for the news on Google's new API level (software interface) payments kit dubbed 'Android Pay.
http://thenextweb.com/google/2015/03/02/google-is-working-on-an-api-level-payments-service-called-android-pay-but-it-wont-compete-with-wallet/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“We’re working on something called Android Pay. It’s an API layer in Android, so that all the mechanics of payments can be done in a standardized and consistent way,” Pichai said.

He added that because Google is attempting to integrate a payments system at the OS level, it won’t actually compete with things like Samsung’s newly-announced Pay service or its own Google Wallet.

MCX Announces CurrentC Brand for Mobile Payments

We have some pretty enormous events stirring up this September in the payments space.

The Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the consortium of retailers embarking on a journey in mobile payments together, yesterday announced its consumer-facing brand.

CurrentC

The logo above is the app icon.

We have a number of stories on payments that cover this and other news in payments so read on.

First up is one of my favorite sites for news in the mobile space, Mobile Commerce Daily:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mcx-launches-currentc-in-pilot-programs-targets-2015-nationwide-rollout

Here is a snippet from that piece:

While Apple’s rumored launch of mobile payments solution next week is expected to make a big impact, Merchant Customer Exchange – a consortium of retailers – has beat the technology company to the punch with a pilot already in market and significant potential for a quick impact on sales.

Next is PYMTS.com with a very good analysis:

http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/the-411-on-mcx-and-mobile-payments/#.VAjOhcVdXVU

Here is a snippet from that piece:

[Dekkers Davidson, CEO of MCX, stated] ... “The CurrentC Network will provide merchants with unparalleled reach and resources in the mobile payments category and will offer merchants new and exciting channels to engage with customers, strengthen relationships, and enjoy more control of transaction data.”

A couple more to read:

http://gigaom.com/2014/09/03/mcx-launches-currentc-a-mobile-wallet-for-walmart-best-buy-and-other-retailers/

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Eye-on-Branding_-As-Wallets-Struggle_-MCX-Dubs-Its-Scheme-CurrentC-While-Isis-Says-It-Is-Now-Softcard

Next is news from McDonald's and their NFC-based mobile payments efforts:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mcdonalds-preparing-for-launch-of-mobile-payment-system-memo-shows

Finally is news from the troubled mobile carrier brand ISIS:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/isis-softcard-rebranding-leaves-strategic-woes-unaddressed

Hope you have a fine day.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  For purposes of disclosure I am involved in MCX through my employer Topco Associates, LLC.

Paydiant News, plus Beacons in the Super Bowl

A couple more news points.

Paydiant has publicly stated it will be announcing a new partner that will enable its mobile payment solution to be made available in 100,000 retail locations.  Wow!

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/4497

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Another large retailer, with as many as 100,000 locations, will begin using a mobile payments app developed by Paydiant Inc. within the next few weeks, Jed Rice, senior vice president of business development, told attendees at the Northeast Acquirers Association conference last week in West Dover, Vt.

Next up is news regarding the use of BLE Beacons during the Super Bowl.  This technology is shooting on straight for the stratosphere, so far.

http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/commerce-3-0/playmakers/2014/beacons-shaped-super-bowl-experience/

That piece links to a much better write-up in Business Insider:

http://www.businessinsider.com/beacons-at-the-super-bowl

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Paydiant Mobile at ATMs

The mobile payments company Paydiant has just received a patent for an app that stages cash withdrawals from ATM machines.

Digital Transactions has a write-up on this news.

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/4479

Here is a snippet from that article:

To use the feature, a customer logs into his bank’s mobile-banking application, touches a button labeled “Get Cash” or something similar, and indicates the amount of the withdrawal. The application sends a token to the user’s device linking the user, his account number, and the requested transaction.

Later, at one of his bank’s ATMs, the user pushes a “mobile” button on the ATM screen and scans a quick-response (QR) code displayed on the screen to identify himself and trigger cash dispensing via an encrypted connection to a cloud server.
Happy reading,

J.W. Gant