Tag: levelup

The test run is being launched at college campuses in partnership with Chartwells.

LevelUp, a mobile payments startup, has just announced that it is taking an important step forward in the smartphone based transaction environment by running a trial of its service among the demographic that is most likely to carry compatible devices.

It is starting this pilot project on college campuses, as students of this age are highly likely to carry smartphones.

This mobile payments test is being conducted in partnership with Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services, a company that supplies food to colleges across the United States. Throughout this trial of the smartphone transaction service, certain colleges will allow LevelUp to be used to pay for meals at the dining halls.

At the moment, the mobile payments trial includes Northeastern University (Boston) and Buffalo State (New York).

According to Chartwells, it agreed to take part in the LevelUp pilot project at the two colleges because it believes that mobile payments will help to make the ordering process at mealtime both faster and more convenient. The vice president of marketing and creative services at Chartwells, Patti Girardi, explained that “Chartwells chose to pilot the new payment system at Buffalo State and Northeastern because we thought it was a perfect fit for our partners.”

Girardi went on to explain that LevelUp was a strong match for Chartwells because it is also capable of offering the company analytics about the purchases that are being made, the visits that are made to the sites, as well as the return visits. This data could be highly beneficial in determining precisely which limited time offers and promotions have been successful among students, and when sales fluctuations are occurring at retail locations. The information could be applied to better understand the purchasing behaviors of the students that they serve.

To use the mobile payments service, the student will need to have downloaded the LevelUp app. It functions in the same way at the dining halls in the college as it does at other merchants who accept these transactions. A payment card is linked by the student to a personal QR code, which is then rendered on the app. The point of sale is equipped with a scanner that can scan the code in order to complete the transaction.

Mobile payments are becoming more important for consumers

Mobile payments are becoming a very important part of global commerce. More consumers have smartphones now than ever before, and many of these consumers are looking for more efficient and convenient ways to purchase products. Mobile payments are becoming so important to consumers that new mobile commerce platforms spring up on a seemingly daily basis to help consumers purchase products and transfer money using their mobile devices. Some of these platforms have become so popular that they are beginning to clash with one another for dominance in the mobile commerce arena.

Companies hold high hopes for 2013

LevelUp, which recently celebrating reaching 1 million active users, is one such company. Seth Priesbatsch, founder of the mobile payments platform, believes that 2013 will be the year in which a dominant mobile commerce platform will be crowned. LevelUp is not the only company that shares this belief, of course, as Paydiant, another leading mobile commerce platform, also expects 2013 to be a major year for mobile payments. PayPal boasts of the largest share of active users in terms of mobile payments and expects to see more people participating in mobile commerce this year than ever before.

Loyalty programs and marketing may be where true opportunities lie

Though these companies share high hopes for mobile commerce, mobile payments may not actually be the most significant opportunity that exists in the evolving state of commerce. Loyalty and marketing are where the true opportunities lie, according to Paydient. Loyalty programs from major brands offer consumers access to benefits they can receive by, quite literally, showing loyalty to a specific brand. In some cases, these benefits could be steep discounts on favored products, or free products altogether.

Platform that can provide the best of everything mobile commerce has to offer may win with consumers

Though loyalty programs and marketing hold a great deal of promise, most companies are focused on the area of mobile payments. Developing efficient and effective mobile payment services may open up the door for loyalty programs and marketing campaigns to take hold among consumers. The evolving state of commerce suggests that the company that can offer the best of everything will come out on top in terms of consumer engagement.