Author: BWild

Apple acquires mobile payments specialist from Visa

| October 1, 2014

Mary Carol Harris joins Apple, bringing her extensive mobile payments experience with her

Apple has made an aggressive move in the mobile payments space. The company has successfully acquired Mary Carol Harris, the former director of mobile for Visa Europe. Harris has significant experience in the mobile space, especially when it comes to payments. She also has expertise with NFC technology, which is the foundation of the new Apple Pay service. Apple’s acquisition of Harris may go a long way in improving the company’s stance in the European mobile commerce market.

Apple is working to establish a strong foothold in the European market

Apple Pay intends to change the way that people pay for goods and services, leveraging contactless technology in order to make payments more convenient for consumers. The service is already being heavily supported by a wide variety of financial institutions, including Visa itself. In the U.S., Apple Pay has been met with excitement, but this is not the case in other parts of the world. In Europe, the demand for mobile commerce services has been quite high, but consumers have become quite comfortable with the services that they are currently using, which may make it difficult for Apple Pay to stand out amongst the competition.

Harris could be pivotal to Apple’s European goals

Mobile Payments NewsMary Carol Harris has 14 years of experience in digital and mobile payments. Before joining Visa, she ran Telefonica’s NFC division. She served as Visa Europe’s vice president in charge of strategic alliances and projects in mobile thereafter. Harris has extensive experience in creating mobile payment systems and she was one of the pioneers of payments via SMS. She may serve as a powerful ally in Apple’s push into the European market.

Apple looks to partner with European financial organizations

Apple is hoping to form partnerships with European financial institutions that mirror its partnerships with organizations in the U.S. By partnering with European banks, Apple will be able to make its new mobile payments service more widely available. The Apple Pay service supports NFC technology, but only works with payments being made from an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.

Gemalto tapped to make mobile payments more secure in China

| September 29, 2014

China Mobile calls upon Gemalto to help make payments more secure for Chinese commuters

Gemalto, a leading provider of digital security solutions, has been chosen by China Mobile to protect consumers using mobile payments for mass transit in Beijing, China. The company will be using its UpTeq NFC Multitenant SIMs in order to protect consumer information when they are making payments for transportation services. The SIMs that mobile consumers will be using will come pre-loaded with the Beijing transit application, which is used by more than 22 million commuters every day.

Transportation app will allow consumers to easily make payments for transit services

The application has been a boon for those making daily commutes. The app allows people to pay for transit services using their mobile devices, making the payment process more convenient. China Mobile has been a prominent supporter of mobile payments in recent years and believes that the public transportation space could use more support in its engagement of mobile consumers. Ensuring that payments made from a mobile device are secure could encourage more people to take advantage of the mobile services that the public transit space is offering.

New SIMs will provide mobile devices with NFC capabilities

China Mobile Payments SecurityThe UpTeq NFC Multitenant SIMs will be able to host a wide range of mobile services, including couponing and loyalty programs. The SIMs will be able to give most smartphones NFC capabilities, allowing them to interact with NFC-based payment and marketing initiatives. China Mobile users will also be able to make use of NFC-enabled mobile applications that can be downloaded through the organization’s 4G networks.

Improving security may help make mobile commerce more attractive to consumers

Security is one of the top priorities for companies that are beginning to enter the mobile commerce space. Many consumers have been wary of mobile payments because of the lack of security solutions available for new payment platforms. As security increases, more consumers are likely to participate in mobile commerce. Gemalto has significant experience in matters of security and may be able to help promote mobile payments among Chinese consumers.