Category Archives: mobile payments
GSMA announces initial speakers for NFC & Mobile Money Summit
Rating: Don’t worry, this one is in Milan not Barcelona
As the GSMA quite rightly admits, as a technology NFC (Near Field Communication) has been around for quite some time now. So the GSMA has created a seperate show for NFC – the NFC & Mobile Money Summit. GoMobile News remembers writing about NFC when the MWC was still held in Cannes, not Barcelona. Anyway, all the signs are that NFC is going to follow in Bluetooth’s footsteps and become almost universal cellular handsets. What the GSMA picked up upon is that leading mobile operators, representing over 60 per cent of the global mobile subscribers, have committed NFC technology. That definitely merits a separate event but this time in Milan. Continue reading
Guest Post: A look at possible new technologies for 2013
by Katerina Merzlova, a writer with Intellectsoft
Today we live in a very fast developing world, especially where the technological sphere is concerned. Even five years ago we couldn’t even imagine having devices in everyday use such as we have today. Ultrabooks, tablets, and smartphones have changed our business and entertainment life. The year is coming to its end. We anticipate several great releases by Apple, Microsoft, Motorola, and Samsung coming in theAutumn, but it is also fascinating to try to guess what is going to be next. And so I’ll suggest to you some of the most probable technologies that will provide us with further development and will find their implementation in 2013. Continue reading
UK Banks have uphill struggle with NFC adoption says YouGov
Rating: Existing mobile banking apps still not mobile friendly enough
Banks in the UK will struggle to get widespread adoption of NFC payments if a survey of UK adults carried out last month [july 2012] by YouGov on behalf of Firstsource Solutions is to be believed. The research found that over half (58 per cent) of UK smartphone owners were unlikely to ‘swipe’ [using NFC] their smartphone to make payments – even if their smartphones supported it. The common fear that personal bank details would not be secure over such a connexion was the main reason given by two thirds (67 per cent) of respondents. And that’s two thirds of those who said that they’d be willing to use NFC. More worrying for the Banks is that over a fifth (22 per cent) do not believe the technology will work at all. GoMobile News blames those strange TV ads aired by Barclays for the lack of confidence in NFC. Continue reading
Why isn’t Olympic ticket purchasing mobile aware?
Rating: Antenna Software gives serious stick to Olympic committee
Those following the Olympic Games 2012 here in London will be aware that there was a considerable public backlash surrounding empty seats at certain events. Funnily enough this didn’t seem to apply to the women’s beach volleyball event held at the Horseguards’ Parade. Anyway, the situation has provoked Antenna Software into criticism of LOCOG’s [ London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games] reaction to this public outcry and its attempts to sell more of the empty seats. In particular, Clare Grant, vp for marcoms with Antenna Software has criticised the Games’ poor mobile presence and asked, “Could a better mobile presence have helped LOCOG’s ticketing woes?” Grant points out that, “With so many new tickets going on sale at last minute – often just a few hours before the games – LOCOG has really missed a trick by failing to provide a dedicated mobile ticketing presence.” Antenna also supplied some web page loading times. Continue reading
Guest Post: NFC payment test at Olympics will inspire mobile attackers to go for the Gold
by Jimmy Shah Mobile Security Researcher with McAfee
Visa is testing out its PayWave contactless payment service at the Summer Olympics in London. Every athlete will get a Samsung Galaxy SIII phone enabled with near-field communication (NFC) along with Visa’s payment app. Contactless payments aren’t new, and similar payments by mobile phone have been tested by Google with its Wallet app and other NFC smartphones. When we last looked at NFC phones and similar apps, there were questions of whether an attacker could go after the apps or the phone hardware and the Android OS. Since then we have seen a PIN-reset vulnerability that allowed an attacker to use the free prepaid card and the ability to crack PINs on the phone. Continue reading
Telefonica’s Direct to bill opens up access to its 300 million customers
Rating: Strikes deal with Facebook, RIM, Microsoft and Google
Many have talked about helping to monetise mobile content but Telefónica Digital has made serious strides ahead with the partnerships it has announced for its ‘Direct to bill’ payments platform. Its partnerships read like a Who’s Who of the mobile industry and includes: -RIM (BlackBerry App World); Microsoft (Windows Phone Marketplace); Google (Play); and Facebook. In developed markets the platform offers Telefónica/O2/Movistar customers a convenient form of payment. In emerging markets Direct to bill is a means of targeting the unbanked. Continue reading
Guest Post: The London Olympics showcase for mobile money
James Richards, vp for mobile at Intelligent Environments looks at how the Games could highlight the use of NFC payments
Love or the loathe the idea of the Olympics coming to England’s capital city in less than one month [July 2012], one cannot deny that once the medals have been awarded and the athletes have packed up, the legacy left by the world’s greatest sporting event will be felt by millions in the UK for years to come. It must not go unnoticed that there will be technological benefits to the city too, especially through the use of mobile payments technology. The London Olympics has long been touted as the perfect platform to accelerate the roll-out and adoption of mobile banking and mobile payments across the UK. More than 3,000 NFC terminals will be installed across Olympic venues, suggesting that the sporting event will provide a strong showcase for the versatility of mobile payments as we move into Q5-Q4 2012. Continue reading
GoMo stumbles across UK banking app for BlackBerry
Rating: HSBC UK finally releases app for RIM phones, we think
You can never be quite sure about these things but GoMobile News thinks we have discovered that the HSBC Bank (in the UK) has finally released the version of its Fast Balance app for those with RIM BlackBerry smartphones. Our guess that this is a news scoop is based on the fact that the BlackBerry App World app store says the current version of this app was released on July 25th 2012. We’ve double-checked and it very definitely is still June 2012. The second clue was the fact that the QR code for downloading the BlackBerry version of this app suddenly appeared on the standard (HTML) version of the HSBC web site. Continue reading
Guest Post: NFC – so near, yet so far
Hwan Chung, CEO at Danal Europe, looks at why NFC has yet to take off and what the mobile payments industry can do to get more consumers behind it
On the face of it, the future for NFC (Near Field Communication) looks very bright. Analysts have predicted that by 2015, one in two mobile phones will be NFC-enabled and that NFC will facilitate transactions worth $74 billion. Yet, despite the impressive forecasts, the industry still has a long way to go before mobile payments even come close to matching the revenues made by cash or credit card. Continue reading
Confusion reigns over RBS Get Cash facility
Rating: Is it restricted to Scottish Android-owning customers presently?
The Royal Bank of Scotland put out the news on June 13th [2012] that, ” From today RBS and NatWest customers can choose to ditch their debit cards in favour of their Android phones, with a new innovation that allows them to ‘GetCash’ from an ATM without needing a debit card.” The Banks customers can request the cash on their mobile and a six digit pin will be generated. This code is entered at an ATM; the amount of cash confirmed, and funds distributed accordingly. Great. Ben Green, head of mobile at NatWest and RBS, commented, “This has never been done anywhere in the UK, and yet is a really simple and secure way to help our customers get cash whenever and wherever they need it.” Unfortunately, it didn’t make it very clear which handsets could use the app and which customers are eligible. Continue reading
Facebook App Center offers good possibilities
Rating: Implications for mobile billing are key
Last week, Facebook launched its App Center in the USA (without any guidance for when the rest of us will get access). The company’s aim is to make it easier for its 900 million or so users to find apps which they can enjoy and share with friends. Crucially, the App Center features mobile apps as well as web apps. To make it easier for Facebook users to find social apps for their mobile devices, the App Center is now available in the Facebook iOS and Android apps, as well as on Facebook.com. Continue reading
2012 to become Year of the mobile wallet
Rating: Everybody else’s prediction so we join in
There was a tradition in technology journalism that writers always tied to predict which particular item of technology was going to triumph in the current calendar year. So they could describe ’201n’ as the “Year of the nnn.” Well it is becoming increasingly obvious to GoMobile News that in the mobile sector, 2012 is going to be the year of the mobile payment. Luckily – to back our viewpoint, GoMobile News has just received a comment from Hwan Chung, CEO of Danal CS&F. Continue reading
Mobile payments support is the Galaxy s3′s killer feature
Rating: Never mind the processor speed and the screen size
Tomorrow [May 29th 2012], is the official release date for the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone in Europe and ten other cities worldwide including Tokyo and Dubai. There have already been glowing revues and the general consensus is that this is the handset which will really take the battle to Apple and its iconic iPhone range. Many pundits seem to overlook the fact that Samsung has already stolen the mantle of the leading vendor of mobile phones from Nokia. So why shouldn’t the Galaxy S3 trounce the iPhone because Samsung obviously knows what it is doing in the mobile phone business. Making phones that people actually want helps a lot. However, GoMobile News is with Fred Huet, founder of Greenwich Consulting, who points out that mobile payments is Apple’s Achilles heel. Continue reading
O2 creates a stir with its Mobile Wallet offering
Rating: Should help boost contactless payments
O2′s announcement of the O2 Mobile Wallet in the UK has created quite a stir within the UK. O2’s service will not only facilitate money transfers but also contactless payments in the near future. As Fred Huet, md with Greenwich Consulting points out, “The fact that so many high-street retailers have signed up already means that it is likely to get some strong traction, as consumers get used to paying for goods via mobile.” The announcement has also generated a flurry of stats, including one survey from YouGov conducted online on behalf of Intelligent Environments (IE). According to James Richards, Director of Mobile, Intelligent Environments, “Consumer appetite to use the ever-ubiquitous mobile device to make payments and manage money is alive and kicking.” Which is good news considering all the scaremongering over mobile payments’ security. Continue reading
Huge boom in UK m-commerce says Worldpay
Rating: Rakuten’s Play.com says don’t write off bricks & mortar
The Global Online Shopper report commissioned by WorldPay has found that -globally – 30 per cent of online shoppers either use a smartphone (19 per cent) or a tablet (11 per cent). The report also found that one in six Britons do their shopping on a smartphone. In the UK, of those consumers who buy using a mobile device – 14 per cent use a smartphone whilst 6 per cent do so via a tablet. However, when it comes to heavy spenders (those who have spent 30 per cent of their disposable income online over the past year), 55 per cent of heavy spenders have used a smartphone (worldwide). Adam Stewart, marketing director with Rakuten’s Play.com says that merchants shouldn’t panic and abandon bricks and mortar entirely. They should take a multi-channel approach instead. Continue reading
