Mobile payments firm gains momentum through Series B funding
Mobile payments firm Flint has managed to fly below the radar through much of this year, but the company has begun attracting significant attention as it makes progress with its mobile commerce endeavors. The firm recently announced support for the Android platform in order to expand the reach of its mobile payments services. This week, Flint announced that it has raised more than $6 million in Series B funding, led by the Digicel Group and SVG Partners. Funding from the Digicel Group may provide some insight on the future of Flint.
Digicel leads Series B funding for Flint
The Digicel Group is not a well known name in the U.S., but is quite prominent in the Caribbean and the South Pacific. The organization operates within the mobile sector and has a strong interest in mobile payments and providing wireless services to consumers. The Digicel Group has, to some extent, become a popular alternative to more conventional telecommunications companies. Both Flint and Digicel share a lot in common, as both companies look to bring new life to the mobile space.
Flint aims to make mobile payments easier for merchants
Flint was launched in May of 2012 and aims to make it easier for new entrepreneurs to enter into the mobile space and embrace mobile payments. The firm offers services that allow businesses to process mobile payments in a convenient manner and without the need for a dedicated point-of-sale system. Using the Flint application, merchants can scan a consumer’s credit or debit card and process a payment quickly, using a fingerprint to authorize transactions. Flint also offers competitive rates when compared to services offered by similar companies.
Funds will help company expand
The funding that Flint has risen will help the company to improve its various mobile payments technologies. It will also help the company expand its team of developers, which is currently 16 people strong. Much of the company’s future plans are kept secretive, however, which may be a good thing considering the aggressive competition that is common in the mobile payments sector.
Amazon and eBay may clash in the mobile commerce field
Competition in the mobile commerce field is nothing new. Technology firms from around the world are competing with one another in order to develop the next great mobile commerce platform while retailers are working to engage mobile consumers through their own platforms. The popularity surrounding mobile commerce has lead to the emergence of a vast multitude of startup companies that seek to benefit from the success that can be found in the mobile field.
Both companies have high hopes for mobile commerce
Mobile commerce competition may reach a new high as two of the sector’s largest players begin to clash. Both Amazon and eBay boast of a commanding presence in the mobile commerce field. Amazon’s retail power and eBay PayPal division have made the two companies quite formidable, but the two had little occasion to clash in the past. Now that mobile commerce has become a global phenomenon and has shown no signs of slowing down, however, Amazon and eBay are expected to vie for supremacy within the field.
New service from Amazon aims to make mobile payments more convenient
Amazon recently launched its Login and Pay service, which is meant to make mobile payments more convenient for online shoppers. This service is available to retailers and used to make retailers more accommodating of the needs of mobile consumers. The service itself is quite similar to that offered by PayPal and both Amazon and PayPal feature robust anti-fraud capabilities designed to make the mobile commerce sector somewhat more secure. Amazon may be able to compete with PayPal in the mobile space with its new service, especially as eBay focuses more on expansion rather than the development of new services.
Online sales in the US expected to reach $328 by end of 2016
In the U.S., online sales are expected to reach $327 billion by 2016. PayPal is currently the leading online payment processor, accounting for $7.7 million in transactions on a daily basis. There may be plenty of room for Amazon and eBay to grow into the mobile commerce field side by side, but the two companies share a large consumer base. Both appeal to the same demographic as one another, making it difficult for either company to exist in without competing with one another in some way.
