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Mobile Payments

Samsung Pay Verizon Support Enable Update
Retail

Verizon Releases Update To Enable Samsung Pay

October 20, 2015

Samsung Pay Verizon Support Enable Update

When Samsung Pay launched in the US at the end of September, Verizon was the lone major carrier to not support the mobile payment system. At the time Verizon was very quiet, only stating that they were still evaluating the service. Typically this type of canned response can be inferred to mean “Don’t hold your breath.” It was therefore a surprise when a few weeks later, the carrier took to Twitter to announce that it had evaluated Samsung Pay and had decided to enable it on compatible devices. Unfortunately there was no timeframe given for the update. But just over a week after the announcement Verizon has begun rolling out a software update to enable Samsung Pay. If you are on Big Red and have a Galaxy Note 5 or a phone that is part of the Galaxy S6 family of devices, there is a mobile payment enabling update waiting for you! Samsung Pay users now just need more banks to support the service.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

Swatch Prepares to Launch NFC Equipped Watch

October 19, 2015

Swatch Bellamy NFC China

Swatch has charted an unusual path into the smartwatch market. The Swiss watch maker has decided to favor devices that serve specialized purposes instead of embracing do-it-all wearables such as the Moto 360 and Apple Watch. Heck, the company’s first connected watch was designed for volleyball! Continuing the trend Swatch has announced a new watch which only features NFC. The Swatch Bellamy can be used to make mobile payments and open compatible locks and hotel doors. The NFC chip is configured via your Windows Phone or Android device. I would not expect the Bellamy to be able to be configured with an iOS device since the watch does not have Bluetooth and Apple does not allow developers open access to NFC. The approximately $91 device will launch in China at the beginning of 2016 and will later be released in the us and Europe.

I can understand Swatch wanting to stay away from building a wearable that tries to do too much. It is easy for such a device to end up not doing anything well. Smartwatches can be a slippery slope and unless a company is open to constant improvements, refinements, and software innovation, it is a difficult space to be in. And, even if you do all of that, you are far from guaranteed a success. Swatch’s CEO Nick Hayek comes across as a bit cynical though when he refers to devices such as the Apple Watch as “toys.” While all-purpose smartwatches might struggle to find a market, Swatch’s approach ends up overly crippling them. Selling a premium priced plastic watch that only adds NFC seems very narrow sighted. The Swatch Bellamy will likely not draw any new customers to the brand. People seeking this functionality will pay slightly more for wearable devices that can do more. And let us not forget that the Bellamy is also not compatible with iOS devices, which represent nearly half of the mobile market. The only customers Swatch is likely to find for the watch are people who want a Swatch anyways and figure, “Why not pay a bit more so I can pay for things?”

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

Square Files For IPO Worth Up To $275 Million

October 16, 2015

Square IPO Contactles EMV NFC

From its humble beginnings as a project at California based TechShop, Square, founded by Jack Dorsey, has become the main alternative to traditional credit card terminals. These terminal were expensive, often required credit checks and contracts, and had large processing fees. Square wanted to provide service providers and small business owners an inexpensive way to accept credit cards with reasonable processing fees. Their simple headphone-jack credit swipe has now grown into mobile payment receivers, full POS terminals, and even a food delivery service.

Square feels that momentum is on their side and that the time is right to become a public company; it has filed the paperwork for their IPO, believed to be worth up to $275 million. While the company is still not profitable, losing $77.6 million in the first half of 2015, Square believes it offers a compelling investment opportunity. It’s losses continue to shrink and making the move to a public company will provide Square with some additional working capital. No word on when shares will become available.

Square offers a very competitive payment processing option for small businesses with the low cost of equipment and small processing fees taking a lot of weight off of proprietors. I am always surprised though to see how many business are still using traditional terminals that cost hundreds of dollars and are more expensive to operate. If Square can figure out how to convert just a small percentage of these businesses, it is easy to see how the company’s bottom line can quickly improve. The key to creating these conversions might just be the requirement to begin accepting EMV (chip-and-signature) payments. Starting this month, business owners are now liable for credit card fraud from swiped cards; that is a huge risk for a small business. Given the necessary cost of equipment upgrade, Square’s margin priced $50 Bluetooth reader for both mobile payments and EMV seems like a no brainer.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

Verizon Will Soon Support Samsung Pay

October 7, 2015

Samsung Pay Verizon Support Launch

Verizon has announce that it will soon support Samsung Pay. The carrier made the understated announcement about supporting the service via Twitter, stating that it would enable it through a future software update to compatible devices. Verizon was the only major carrier in the US not supporting the Samsung Pay when it launched late last month. At the time, Verizon stated it was in the “process of evaluating” the service and would provide an update if there was any change…clearly there has now been a change! Verizon did not set any timeframe for the launch, only disclosing that it would be available through a “future update.” If you are a Verizon user with a Galaxy Note 5 or a device in the Galaxy S6 family, we are guessing the update will hit sooner rather than later.

We continue to question Samsung releasing their own mobile payment system, separate from Google’s Android Pay. It feels like an unnecessary level of complexity and bloat when there is a nearly identical solution already baked into the Android operating system. The primary differentiator between the two services is Samsung’s use of MTS technology (which allows the phone to transmit card info to magnetic swipe payment terminals). Unfortunately we don’t think that MTS alone will cause users to switch to Samsung and with chip-and-pin and chip-and-signature becoming standards globally, the magnetic swipe’s days are numbered.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

The Way We Pay Changes Today, Will EMV Chip Or Mobile Prevail

October 1, 2015

EMV Chip Credit Card October 1st

We spend a lot of time at Circuits And Cable Knit speculating on the future of fashion, wearables, and retail tech. What might be possible, what might catch on, and what won’t we be able to live without. There is one thing that is not up for discussion through: the way we pay for things will change. And today is the day that the change begins. Starting October 1st, retailers are now liable for any fraud that is the result of a magnetically swiped charge card.

You might have noticed over the past year that all of your credit cards have been replaced with a version featuring a chip on the front left side. This is called an EMV chip (an acronym of it’s creators Europay, MasterCard and Visa) and retailers will now be asking you to use it instead of simply running your card through the magnetic reader. EMV chips have been common place for decades on charge cards around the globe but not in the US. Banks have been hesitant to push users toward the tech because, while it is more secure than our current magnetic swipe system, it is more complex and cumbersome and requires new payment terminals. But with the US ranking as one of the leading country of credit card fraud, banks are now willing to force the change.

There are two implementations of how an EMV equipped card can be used.  

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by Doug Parker
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Fashion, Jewelry

Henry Holland Distributes Wearable Tech At Runway Show

September 23, 2015

Henry Holland NFC Ring London Fashion Week SS16

When British fashion designer Henry Holland showed off his Spring / Summer 2016 looks this weekend at London Fashion Week, the show became an interactive experience for a few lucky VIPs. The designer crafted and distributed 10 NFC enabled rings. The rings were handmade to look like insects, matching the “Urban Safari” theme of collection and were preloaded with £500. Three of the models walked the runway with a special leaf-shaped brooch, which was a NFC receiver. After the show, the VIPs could walk up to one of the 3 different looks, hold their ring next to the model’s brooch, and purchase the look. They were then able to walk out the door with their purchase.

According to an interview with The Telegraph, Holland stated, “A really big thing for me was making the tech invisible, especially if I’m incorporating it into something as important as my show. From my point of view it was really about creating two items – the ring and the brooch – that were really desirable pieces that people would want to wear themselves, but just happened to have those capabilities.”

This year, increasing customer engagement at Fashion Week events has become a predominate theme. Social media is being used more and more as a tool by designers to engage a global audience, granting them instant access to see the newest looks. Holland has been pushing things even further; he also wants to allow people to immediately own the new looks instead of having to wait 6 months. While only 10 people had this ability during his SS16 show, at House Of Holland’s menswear show last spring, the entire collection was made available for purchase immediately. Earlier this year we posed the question of where Fashion Week events were headed – pushing towards consumer or towards trade. As New York and London Fashion Weeks wrap, it seems the momentum is clearly towards a consumer focus.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

Android Pay Officially Launches Today

September 10, 2015

Android Pay Launches

Google has announced that Android Pay will officially launch today. After being rumored to premiere several weeks ago, the company’s Google Wallet replacement will start hitting handsets over the next few days. Android Pay is functionally equivalent to Apple Pay, providing Android users a tokenized NFC payment system. Unlike Google Wallet, which required users to preload a virtual charge card, with Android Pay you simply connect your credit or debit card to make charges. Android Pay should be accepted any place Apple Pay and other contactless payment methods are accepted.

Google’s launch of Android Pay is well timed, hitting just before the launch of new iPhones and Samsung’s competing service. Samsung’s service will officially begin on September 28th in the US and, unlike Apple Pay and Android Pay, will allow you to use your Galaxy handset to pay at any magnetic swipe register. All 3 services will beat the much delayed, and outdated, CurrentC to market; the QR based CurrentC began its first single market test a few weeks ago.

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by Doug Parker
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