Tag: money2020

Ed McLaughlin was at Money2020 and explained the future of NFC across smartphones and other devices.

At the Las Vegas 2013 Money2020 event, Ed McLaughlin, the chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard addressed the fact that in mobile payments, “a smartphone is a device, not the only device.”

He explained that transactions may be headed toward the use of smartphones, but not exclusively.

McLaughlin stated that although mobile payments are important in terms of the use of smartphones, the true focus is about building a digital network. Within the demonstrations that were made of the MasterCard technology, a smartphone was used, but so was a watch and a credit card, for example. In fact, it was mentioned that the service has already been effectively tested with Google Glass augmented reality glasses, though they did not have any specific announcement about plans for that device.

When a customer has used mobile payments two or three times, tapping the device to pay will be a habit.

MasterCard feels that by the time the customer experiences the convenience of NFC technology for mobile payments, and taps the device or card 2 or 3 times to make a purchase, he or she won’t return to using traditional credit cards. McLaughlin referred to a report that he had just received from Australia, where Kohls has experienced a growth in contactless payments of 60 percent.

The MasterCard platform uses both NFC technology and QR codes, and it offers a number of app functions and choices to provide a safe and customized experience for the user at the point of sale. This includes additional benefits such as loyalty cards and coupons. The app also provides an interesting feature that allows for a shipping option after an item has been purchased in store. This means that, for instance, if a large TV has been bought, the consumer can opt to have it shipped to their home, instead of having to transport it, themselves.

This has all been worked into the popular existing PayPass platform from MasterCard, with its tap and go NFC technology feature. It is now being combined with QR codes for added security and to allow the process to remain convenient for consumers who are becoming quite familiar with the barcode scans.

PayPal made a similar mobile payments announcement at Money2020 in which they state that they would also be integrating QR codes into their transaction process to keep security high and yet still convenient.

Mobile commerce adoption is being slowed by numerous issues

The RetailNet Group, an advisory firm focused on the retail industry, recently attended the Money2020 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it shed some insight on the trends emerging in the mobile space. At the conference, the firm helped raise awareness of the problematic issues that exist within the mobile space, especially where retailers are concerned. Some of these issues are slowing the adoption of mobile commerce among consumers and are making people leery of marketing initiatives that leverage geotagging and other such location-based technologies.

In-store applications lack traction with consumers

When it comes to mobile commerce, many retailers have been working to promote a wide range of applications that can be used in stores. According to the RetailNet Group, these applications are somewhat popular when they are first released, but more than a quarter of these applications are downloaded once and never used beyond that point. In the U.S., retailers are struggling to find traction with consumers when it comes to using these applications, but these applications have become a resounding success in China, where mobile commerce has established a strong foothold among consumers. The firm suggests that the applications that show the most promise are “scan and go” apps that allow consumers to skip lines at checkout.

Geotargeting considered problematic by many people

Geotargeting is becoming relatively popular in the mobile space. Location-based services hold a great deal of promise for marketers and their ability to develop engaging campaigns, but many geotargeting initiatives are being considered somewhat invasive by consumers. The RetailNet Group suggests that many of these initiatives are acquiring information about consumers even without appropriate permission. The firm claims that people, in general, do not favor their information being acquired by companies and organizations without their permission.

Google struggles on the mobile commerce front

On the mobile payments front, Google continues to struggle with engaging consumers through its Wallet platform. The firm suggests that many people do not consider Google to be a mobile commerce company. As such, they show little interest and confidence in Google’s capabilities in the mobile commerce field. Google is, however, doing quite well in terms of e-commerce, providing retailers with innovative ways to engage the mobile crowd.