Tag: mobile commerce services

Turbulence rocks mobile commerce partnership

| June 1, 2013

Mobile commerce deal between VeriFone and the Taxicab Commission goes sour

VeriFone, a leading developer of point-of-sale technologies, has been making strong progress in the field of mobile commerce recently. The company has seen the demand for mobile point-of-sale systems grow in recent years and has been working to accommodate the needs of its customers, many of whom have shown aggressive interest in mobile payments. VeriFone recently entered into a deal with the Taxicab Commission of Washington D.C. The partnership had started relatively well, but soon encountered significant problems that eventually lead to significant turbulence.

Mobile commerce is growing in popularity, but problems still exist

While mobile commerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, not all of the news that comes from this field can be good all the time. The partnership between VeriFone and the Taxicab Commission is one example of this and the partnership may serve as an example of the perils that exist in the mobile commerce field. Due to the relative youth of mobile commerce, the challenges that companies face in this field are still somewhat unknown and partnerships that run into these challenges may be able to provide some degree of insight on how such challenges can be overcome or avoided altogether.

Mobile commerce partnership goes sourPartnership had sought to bring mobile commerce into taxi transportation

The partnership between VeriFone and the Taxicab Commission was meant to install smart meters into the cabs that operate in Washington D.C. These smart meters would facilitate mobile payments, allowing consumers to pay cab fares with their mobile devices rather than traditional forms of currency. The adoption of smart meters was considered a good business move due to the growing number of consumers that are becoming more reliant on their smartphones and tablets. The Taxicab Commission had initially been enthusiastic regarding the partnership, but quickly sought to back away from the deal it had made with VeriFone.

VeriFone notes strong interest in mobile commerce field remains clear among many companies

VeriFone is now claiming that the Taxicab Commission owes the company as much as $18.5 million. Most of these expenses come from cancellation fees that had been negotiated prior to the finalization of the partnership between the two companies. While the partnership between the two companies has fallen through, VeriFone notes that mobile commerce is still a field where many merchants and other businesses are showing a great deal of interest.

2013 to be the year of mobile commerce

| April 6, 2013

2013 Mobile CommerceMobile commerce companies will have an opportunity to prove themselves this year

This year is expected to determine whether mobile payments will become a widely accepted phenomenon or little more than a passing fancy. In 2013, several of the brands investing in mobile commerce solutions will have their platforms exit the testing phase, becoming widely available to consumers around the world. Those that can entice the interests of consumers are expected to thrive, whereas those that are not well received are likely to fail.

Consumers are becoming more mobile

Part of what makes this year so important for the mobile payments sector is the fact that smartphone and tablet saturation is reaching an all time high. More consumers have access to smartphones and tablets now than they ever have in the past. This makes them more susceptible to the allure of mobile commerce. Moreover, media consumption is beginning to favor the mobile space, meaning that more consumers are relying on their mobile devices for their daily content rather than other platforms. For mobile commerce companies, these trends are of vital importance.

Comprehensive mobile commerce services likely to find success

As more consumers begin to embrace the mobile world, large brands are beginning to invest more heavily into mobile commerce. Mobile startups are beginning to be put to the test and those that offer comprehensive and easy to use mobile payments services are expected to beat out their competitors. There is no shortage of competition, of course, as there are literally thousands of mobile applications that offer some form of mobile commerce service to consumers. The trick, however, is finding a business model that is able to capture the support of consumers.

Freemium model shows most promise

So far, the freemium model is among the most successful in the mobile commerce realm. Freemium refers to the practice of offering a free service with the absolute lowest level of features being offered to consumers. Consumers have the option to pay a fee to unlock new features or sign up for a subscription to access all the features that the platform has to offer.