Tag: mobile credit card

Mobile payments currently comprise a tiny fraction of American POS volume

Mobile Payments POSThe latest research indicates that it makes up only 0.01 percent of the total in the United States.

According to a report that was just issued by Javelin Strategy & Research, mobile payments using contactless technology at the point of sale (POS) made up only a tiny sliver of the total volume in the United States in 2012.

The report indicated that this technology was used for only 0.01 percent of the total POS volume in the U.S.

The research data showed that the total amount spent over contactless mobile payments was approximately $500 million. At the same time, though, the report did not see a grim future for this form of smartphone based transaction. In fact, based on their predictions, things are looking bright in that area.

The forecast made by the report is that there will be an increase in mobile payments at a CAGR of 61 percent.

According to Javelin’s predictions, the compound annual growth rate that will be seen for mobile payments using contactless technology will be 61 percent this year. This will mean that the method will experience growth at a rate that is higher than any other method. In fact, it is predicting that this trend will continue over the next five years, and that in 2018, the total volume will have reached 5.4 billion. This will mean that it will make up 0.13 percent of the total POS volume in the United States in that year.

A Javelin industry analyst, Aleia Van Dyke explained this trend by saying that the point of sale market in retail is experiencing a very rapid evolution, as the popularity of smartphones and mobile payments takes off. There is a much greater expectation from consumers today, as they feel that the retail businesses where they shop should be providing an enhanced shopping experience while inside the walls of the store through the use of smartphones.

The rapid implementation of mobile payments and other transaction options such as prepaid and gift cards have helped with the adoption of other technology based options, among consumers, according to Van Dyke. As a whole, retail POS purchases last year brought in $3.98 trillion. The prediction for five years down the road is $4.2 trillion.

Mobile payments partnership opens between Samsung and Visa

Mobile Payments Samsung and Visa partnershipThe two companies have come together to help to turn smartphones in a digital form of wallet.

Samsung and Visa have just announced that they will be working together to help to speed up the worldwide adoption of mobile payments services, by combining their expertise and technology.

This new combined effort will be based on NFC technology that is embedded in certain Samsung devices.

Called the Visa Mobile Provisioning Service, is designed to allow financial institutions to take advantage of transactions using mobile payments account information that is securely downloaded through the use of NFC technology.

Furthermore, the Visa payWave mobile payments applet will be loaded onto Samsung NFC devices.

This will automatically turn smartphones into a mobile payments option for the consumers who purchase them. According to the global head of product at Visa, Jim McCarthy, in a statement, “Samsung devices enabled with Visa payment functionality will no doubt be a powerful product offering — especially in markets where paying with a mobile device is becoming commonplace.”

McCarthy also added that the heart of ensuring that mobile payments become widely available worldwide is to provide financial institutions with a secure way of offering these millions of smartphone carriers with a way to safely store and transmit their account data. He explained that “that is exactly what Visa and Samsung are ready to deliver.”

This is not the first time that Samsung and Visa have worked together on mobile payments initiatives. They previously came together in May 2012 to take part in the trial that was held during the Olympics in London, when the limited edition Galaxy S III smartphone was distributed among the athletes for use during the games. Those phones had the payWave technology built in and allowed the users to register so that they could use the device to for a digital checkout at certain retailers in the city.

The next version of the device, the Galaxy S IV, will have the Visa mobile payments technology built right into it for use with its NFC chip. It is expected to be unveiled on March 14 at a press event.