"The time has come: Mobile payments will either be the next big thing or a huge flop." This title from a 2015 article in Quartz captures the uncertain future of mobile payments - despite a growing list of smartphone companies and banks adding their own mobile wallets to what quickly became a crowded market, consumers' response remained lukewarm. It was difficult to determine whether shoppers would ever give up their plastic cards in favor of their smartphones. That future is now beginning to come into focus, and it looks like mobile payments may live up to expectations after all. In a study spanning some 40 million customers, Bank of America found mobile wallet transactions are up nearly 250 percent year-over-year, with mobile wallet spending following at 220 … more
When it comes to keeping payment data secure, merchants have plenty of financial incentive. From undergoing a PCI-mandated forensic analysis to providing credit monitoring for affected customers, a data breach can set small business retailers back as much as $50,000, according to FirstData. However, new research suggests companies could stand to suffer even more in lost business if their point-of-sale systems are compromised. Nearly one in five consumers said they would stop shopping at a retailer altogether if it suffered a POS security breach, according to KMPG's 2016 Consumer Loss Barometer. Another 33 percent said they would likely not make another purchase there for at least three months. These results suggest that merchants would have to content … more
What started with fitness bands and smart watches has now grown to become a $20 billion dollar wearable technology industry, according to Goldman Sachs. Despite being a newcomer to the consumer market, nearly 50 percent of consumers already own at least one wearable device, PwC found, leading many to believe they hold the key to future of in-store payments.Tractica, for example, predicts consumers will make more than $500 billion worth of payments via wearable as soon as 2020. While this surely signifies an exciting period of change for shoppers, retailers must also be ready to adapt to the shifting contactless payments landscape.Here's what you need to know as you prepare for the upcoming wearable payments boom:1. You might already have the hardware.
Most wearable devices would … more