SUBSCRIBE

Tag

Apple Pay

Retail

Mobile Wallet Update: Apple, Google, Samsung, CurrentC

June 17, 2015

Mobile Payments Summary June2015 Samsung Android Apple CurrentC

The march towards making mobile payments part of our normal lives continues at a slow pace. Given expense of the required infrastructure updates, it is not surprising. But the good news for the end user is that things are continuing to improve and move forward.

Both Google and Samsung have announced new / improved mobile payment systems, unimaginatively called Android Pay and Samsung Pay. At Google’s I/O conference the other week, the company detailed their new Android Pay platform, superseding Google Wallet for most mobile payments. While Google Wallet requires a virtual debit card which is refilled, Android Pay works similarly to Apple Pay; Google has worked with credit card issuers to allow the cards to be loaded onto the device and then charges are made anonymously with a tokenized card number. Android Pay is expected to launch this Fall with the Android M update. Having Apple and Google utilize a similar system is great news for the consumer as it will likely push the adoption of NFC terminals at retailers.

Samsung announced their Samsung Pay system this Spring as part of the Galaxy S6 unveiling.  

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Gift Guide 2014 Editor's Picks
Gift Guide

Gift Guide 2014: Editor’s Picks

December 8, 2014

Gift Guide 2014 Editor's Picks

Here at Circuits & Cable Knit, we are not only about wearable technology and smart watches. There are a lot of other exciting things that technology brings into our life. We have selected some of our favorite things that your techie and non-techie friends alike will love to receive this holiday season.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
1 Comment
Retail

Whole Foods & Apple Pay, MCX On The Defensive

November 13, 2014

Mobile Payment NewsUp unit a month ago, mobile payments was a fairly quiet topic. Google Wallet had been out for a while but wasn’t moving the industry forward. Since the October launch of Apple Pay there has been press on mobile payments every few days, some good, some bad.

• This week the grocery store chain Whole Foods announced that it had processed 150,000 payments via Apple Pay in the 3 weeks since the service went live. According to Mike Dudas (former mobile payment lead at Google and PayPal) this represents around 1% of Whole Foods’ transactions.

• Google Wallet appears to be benefitting from the publicity of Apple Pay. Since the announcement of Apple’s mobile payment service, the number of Google Wallet users has almost doubled. According to arsTechnica, Google Wallet has also seen a 50% increase in weekly transactions.

• Re/code offered some insight into CurrentC and Walmart, stating that Walmart “will never accept Apple Pay” because of the transactions fees.  

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Retail

Over 1 Million Charge Cards Connected To Apple Pay In First 72 Hours

October 28, 2014

Apple Pay Transaction

Last night Apple announced at a Wall Street Journal event that within the first 72 hours of Apple Pay being available over 1 Million charge cards have been connected to users’ devices. Apple CEO Time Cook stated that this is a larger number than all other contactless payment systems combined to date. Despite some launch issues including certain merchants / banks double charging the consumer by mistake and the blocking of NFC by select retailers, Apple Pay has been met with generally glowing reviews. Additionally, users reports indicate that Apple Pay works with a large number of merchants not officially connected to the service. Whichever flavor of mobile device you use, the success of Apple Pay is to everyone’s benefit. As more users want to make payments via NFC, the multi-platform technology will become more prevalent.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Retail

MCX Partners Begin Blocking NFC Payments Including Apple Pay

October 28, 2014

NFC Payment Terminal

Following the launch of one of the most publicized contactless payment systems to date, two major retailers have turned off their NFC payment terminals. Most CVS’s and Rite Aids have been able to accept NFC based payments for a while now. Users with Google Wallet or a NFC equipped credit/debit card have been able to checkout for sometime without any issue and Apple Pay users were initially able to utilize the service. Several days after the launch of Apple Pay though, CVS and Rite Aid have blocked all NFC payments. The reasoning seems to be the companies’ participation in Merchants Customer Exchange (MCX). MCX is a consortium of merchants who are currently developing their own payment system, called Current C. Current C utilizes a QR code to make payments and requires  

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Retail

Final: A Credit Card Aimed To Eliminate Number Theft

October 10, 2014

Final Credit Card EMVWhile Apple and Google are pushing contactless payment as the most secure method to make a credit card transaction, Final is preparing to introduce a more tangible solution. The company’s EMV (Chip and PIN) credit card creates a new number for every merchant where you use the card. For example, any time you go to a Home Depot the card uses one number but when you go to Bloomingdale’s it will use a different number. These numbers can be revoked by the user at any time and new numbers can be assigned. So if your card number is stolen from one merchant, you can easily kill just that number without messing up accounts you have with other merchants. All aspects of Final can be controlled and monitored from your smart phone including notifications of suspicious purchases. Final expects to launch a beta of the card early 2015.You can sign up for a chance to be part of the beta now on the company’s website. Head past the break for a video: 

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Future of Mobile Payments
Retail

The Future Of Payments And Your Wallet

September 23, 2014

CardFor both in-store and online retailers, there is a race going on to redefine the future of payments and your wallet. With another major retailer, Home Depot, announcing a massive security breach that compromised up to 56 million payment cards, it is clear that the safety of traditional payment systems continues to be in question. How safe is your personal information and how will these new payment methods improve security?

Between credit and debit card transactions, $12 billion dollars changes hands everyday in the US. This represents around 200 million transitions, of which almost all card-present transactions are done through the magnetic strip. By today’s standards magnetic stripe cards are dinosaurs. Originally developed in 1969, the technology achieved mass production in 1971. Since that time very little has changed with them or about how we conduct transactions.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment