Contents tagged with Mobile Commerce

  • Bill Gates praises Apple Pay

    October 09, 2014
    Bill Gates believes Apple Pay could have a dynamic impact on the payments industry.

    When Bill Gates speaks on a tech issue, it's best to pay attention. Earlier this month, he shared his thoughts on the mobile payments space and according to the Microsoft founder, NFC and Apple Pay are driving the industry into the future. 

    Gates was recently interviewed by Bloomberg and the two sides discussed several topics. When Microsoft's long-time rival and its recent announcements regarding new smartphones, a smart watch and an NFC-based payment system were mentioned, Gates was enthusiastic in his answer, stressing that Apple is setting the bar for mobile payments.

    "Apple Pay is a great example of how a cell phone that identifies its user in a pretty strong way [i.e. the fingerprint sensor] and lets you make a transaction that should be very, very inexpensive," he said.& … more

  • How will NFC and the Internet of Things work together?

    September 30, 2014
    The Internet of Things and NFC technology can have a dynamic impact on the payments industry.

    The Internet of Things (IoT) is the biggest topic in the tech industry these days. The concept of connecting all devices — whether they were designed for communication or not — to the Internet is an exciting prospect with great potential. The number of worthwhile applications this technology can have in both the business and consumer realms is virtually limitless. It could end up having a dramatic impact on payments as well, provided that NFC technology continues to penetrate the market as the Internet of Things grows.

    Apple CEO Tim Cook and his team made a number of exciting announcements when the company unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on September 9. One was Apple Pay, the company's new payments system that will take advantage of the NFC … more

  • What will Apple Pay's impact be on the payments industry?

    September 26, 2014
    Last Wednesday, Apple released iOS 8, the latest version of its mobile operating system. This past Friday, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released to record-breaking sales figures. Now that adoption is ramping up and more people are getting their hands on an iOS 8-loaded next-gen iPhone, the consumer electronics giant is just about ready to unveil Apple Pay. 

    The functionality is already in place. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus contain NFC technology, and it is simply now a matter of Apple releasing upgrades to its operating system that allow users to take full advantage of it. This process is taking place simultaneously with an effort to get more merchants on board and organized with the tools they need to facilitate these payments. 

    In an interview featured on PYMNTS.com,  … more

  • What merchants should know about consumer behavior in the mobile commerce era

    September 21, 2014
    Customers who go to eCommerce sites on their phones are more likely to buy.

    The increasing usage of mobile devices in the payments space is causing merchants to rethink the way they interact with customers. Businesses have to be mindful of trends pertaining to mobile commerce, particularly those that dictate behavioral changes.

    For example, studies show that individuals are more likely to visit a mobile website with a purpose than they would if they were on their desktop computer. The idea of mindless web browsing is far more applicable to traditional computing environments, as online users go from page to page while at work or on their home computers. There is a far greater chance that someone who lands on a web page on their mobile device is going to do something other than look around. This is why sales conversions take place more often on mobile. … more

  • Apple truly enters mobile payments game with Apple Pay

    September 10, 2014
    Tim Cook unveiled Apple Pay this week.

    For many years, critics of Apple have been quick to point out that while the company prides itself on innovation, it is behind the times in regards to mobile payments. A lack of NFC technology, despite rumors that have circulated for years prior to each unveiling of a new mobile device, has prevented Apple from having any significant impact in the industry. On Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives put an end to the scrutiny by unveiling Apple Pay, which the company believes will revolutionize the payments process.

    This October, Apple users with the appropriate devices — for now, this means those who buy the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus when both launch towards the end of the month or those who wait and buy an Apple Watch early next year — will be able to pay … more

  • Retailers must adjust to changing mobile payment market

    September 09, 2014
    The mobile payment market is changing rapidly, and retailers have little choice but to adjust.

    For the past few years, the mobile payments market has been more of a curiosity than a major area of investment. Though a few companies, such as Google and Square, have taken early steps in the market, most consumers still opt to use their physical credit and debit cards to make payments, or even cash.

    But that may be changing faster than people expect, and merchants will have to adapt. As a recent article on Wired argues, "the mobile payments marketplace is set to explode — and soon." 

    The news source cites reports that Apple's upcoming iPhone 6 will include the technology to make mobile payments possible. But it's more than that. The source added that a number of different market participants are racing to develop a payment option that will appeal to the greatest number … more

  • New iPhone payments rumor sparks excitement

    September 05, 2014
    Apple could finally be getting into the mobile payments game.

    On September 9, Apple is hosting its annual iPhone event. The expectation is that the consumer electronics giant will unveil the latest version of the popular smartphone — the iPhone 6. While that bit of information appears to be all-but-confirmed, it's the latest rumor attached to the news that has people really excited. According to several sources, Apple is expected to finally release a mobile payments system with its new phone.

    Bloomberg has added weight to these claims by reporting that Visa, MasterCard and American Express have all inked partnerships with Apple. The nature of these agreements is still unknown, but it's likely all questions will be answered on September 9 when CEO Tim Cook and the rest of the Apple executive team take the stage to showcase what … more

  • Why you should know the difference between a mobile commerce technology and a mobile commerce strategy

    August 27, 2014
    Mobile commerce comes in a number of different forms.

    When your company talks about its mobile commerce strategy, what is it really saying? The truth is, simply talking about mobile commerce as a strategy geared towards facilitating future sales may be a misguided approach. 

    This was brought up in a recent Gigaom article that suggested "the future of mobile commerce is commerce." What exactly does that mean? Cormac Foster, the article's author, says too many organizations are concerning themselves with implementing a technology designed to process mobile payments, and that they are tying their mobile commerce strategy to whatever technology they buy. Foster's thesis ultimately is that mobile commerce is an abstract concept because it entails so many different ideas and technologies, so finding the "right" technology to manage … more

  • Mobile commerce helps small businesses compete and overcome challenges

    August 27, 2014
    The average mom and pop shop doesn't have the resources or technology to offer the same streamlined checkout experience customers come to expect at large retailers and department stores. And while customers choose small businesses over larger corporations for a myriad of other reasons, the discrepancy has long been a challenge that the former has had to overcome.

    There will always be a sizable gap between what Sears or Target can offer their customers versus the neighborhood convenience store, but small businesses have begun to close that gap by implementing mobile technology into checkout operations.

    The implementation of tablets as standard POS tools has opened up new opportunities for retailers of all sizes. Not only are small organizations capitalizing on the advantages gained … more

  • Millennials leading mobile payments adoption

    August 25, 2014
    The mobile commerce trend is being led by the millennial generation.

    Most of today's tech trends are fueled by behaviors exhibited by the millennial generation. The emergence of social media, the transition from traditional land lines to mobile communication and, most recently, cable cutting, have primarily gained popularity because of millennials. Now, they are the main demographic leading another major tech trend -- mobile payments.

    Today, virtually everyone born in the last 20 years of the 20th century owns a mobile phone. In most cases, those phones have upgraded from the traditional Nokia "brick" that was seemingly everywhere in the early 2000s to a flip phone and finally to a smartphone, which dominate the mobile space in 2014. Millennials have taken advantage of the evolving functionality of their gadgets by using them for just about every … more