Tag: tencent

Apple Pay continues to fight for a spot in mobile payments

| March 23, 2016

Adoption of Apple Pay remains relatively low among consumers

Apple Pay is still fighting to gain a foothold with consumers in the mobile payments space. It has been 18 months since Apple launched its new payment service, which received strong praise during its initial launch. The service was heralded as something that the mobile payments space desperately needed: A simple, intuitive, and convenient platform. Since its launch, however, Apple Pay has only managed to find modest success, with 80% of iOS users claiming to have never used the service and only 3% claiming to use it regularly.

Security and illusory convenience make Apple Pay less attractive

One of the problems that Apple Pay may be facing is the fact that the average consumer does not see such services as any more “mobile” than cash or a credit card. In essence, mobile payments are meant to be more convenient than traditional forms of commerce, but this is not usually the case due to the similarity these services have with credit and debit cards. Another issue consumers have has to do with security. Many people have noted that they will not participate in mobile payments because of security issues, fearing that their financial information could be at risk of exploitation.

Survey shows that consumers favor in-app shopping over in-store mobile transactions

Mobile Payments - Apple PayA recent survey from First Annapolis Consulting, Consumers are becoming more interested in making purchases with mobile applications. In Spring on 2015, 11% made only in-app purchases, with the majority, 58%, opting to use point-of-sale systems. In December of 2015, 34% of consumers opted to only make in-app purchases. Pushing in-store mobile transactions among consumers has proven difficult, as consumers appear to favor traditional forms of commerce. This has been a challenge for Apple Pay, which has slowed its adoption among those interested in mobile payments.

Competition keeps Apple Pay from finding mainstream success

Competition is also a reason why Apple Pay adoption is relatively low. Apple is currently fighting with several other companies to establish a foothold in the mobile payments space, especially after breaking into new markets. Apple Pay recently launched in China, where companies like Alibaba and Tencent have already found a great deal of favor among consumers, limiting the exposure that Apple Pay has managed to obtain.

Samsung to launch its mobile payments service in China this week

| February 24, 2016

Samsung Pay will be launching in China soon

Samsung is planning to launch its first mobile payments service, called Samsung Pay, in China this week. The company is set to compete with Apple, which has only very recently brought its own payment service to the country. Unlike Apple, however, Samsung may have a relatively easy time engage consumers with its new service. Jefferies, a global investment bank, believes that Samsung will find success in the Chinese market, which has become heavily involved in mobile commerce in recent years.

Analysts see Samsung Pay finding more success among consumers than Apple Pay

Jefferies equity analyst Johnny Wong Kin-man believes that there will be less fanfare surrounding the launch of Samsung Pay, but it will likely be more accepted among merchants than Apple Pay. Apple has had trouble ensuring the launch of its payment service in China, where banks had shown relatively little interest in the service. Banks had shown concern that Apple was attempting to take advantage of the mobile commerce ecosystem that they have already established. Apple has since acquired the support of several banks, many of whom see a great deal of promise in the mobile payments space.

Samsung Pay could become a universally accepted payment platform

Mobile Payments Solution to Launch in ChinaSamsung Pay has already proven to be extremely popular among merchants. Samsung predicts that as many as 30 million merchant locations throughout the world will accept the new payment service in the near future. This would make Samsung Pay the world’s first mobile commerce solution that has near universal acceptance. In China, Samsung Pay may become quite popular among consumers that have become reliant on their mobile devices while shopping.

Samsung will face significant competition from Alibaba and Tencent

While Samsung may be able to find more success than Apple, it will face major competition from other companies that have become involved in mobile payments. Both Alibaba and Tencent have established major footholds in the mobile space, with consumers using the platforms these companies have develop to purchase products online and send money to one another.