Author: Denny

Wal-Mart sees a bright future ahead for mobile payments

| March 9, 2015

Retailer has taken note of the growing prominence of mobile commerce among consumers

Wal-Mart believes that its customers will embrace mobile payments more readily in the coming years. The retailer has taken note of the growth of mobile commerce as it sees more of its customers begin shopping from their mobile devices. The company has also seen a surge in the mobile traffic to its website. Wal-Mart sees a clear shift in the commerce space, but the company is not yet certain where mobile fits into this shift.

Retailers are still trying to understand the behavior of mobile consumers and how mobile payments fit into the retail space

Mobile payments are still relatively new, and retailers have not had much time to become comfortable with the concept of mobile commerce. Companies like Apple and Google have provided retailers and consumers with mobile payments services that have become quite popular, but retailers are still trying to understand the behavior of mobile consumers. Wal-Mart has been working with the Merchant Customer Exchange, a consortium comprised of large retailers that uses a mobile payments service called CurrentC.

Retailers could be left behind if their consortium does not support the mobile payments platforms that are most successful

Walmart - mobile payments futureMembers of the consortium have promised not to support other mobile payment platforms while they are a part of the Merchant Customer Exchange. This could be a problematic issue if Apple Pay, and other services, become more popular. This would leave the retailers involved in the consortium in a difficult position and make it more difficult for them to embrace mobile consumers. Wal-Mart may opt to support other mobile commerce platforms if it needs to compete more effectively in the retail market.

Wal-Mart to continue focusing on making the mobile experience more convenient

The retailer intends to make the mobile experience as convenient as possible for consumers. Convenience is one of the most attractive aspects of mobile commerce, as it allows consumers to avoid lengthy checkout lines and sometimes chaotic crowds. Wal-Mart is expected to focus on supporting convenient platforms that will appeal to consumers that have an interest in mobile payments.

Visa brings more security to Samsung’s mobile payments platform

| March 4, 2015

Visa and Samsung come together to make mobile transactions more secure

Visa has announced that it will be supporting mobile payments on the newly unveiled Samsung Galaxy S6. Samsung revealed the new iteration of its flagship smartphone over the weekend. The device will have several upgraded features over its predecessors, but will also support Samsung Pay, a new mobile payments service that has been devised by Samsung. The new payment service is expected to officially launch in the summer of this year, and will support technology developed by Visa.

Visa Token Service will be used on Samsung Pay

Visa’s Token Service will be supported by Samsung Pay. This service involves the tokenization of consumers information when they make mobile payments. Financial information is converted into digital tokens, which can be used to authenticate a transaction. These tokens each feature a unique, 16-digit number and are created for specific payment environments. For example, tokens generated for the Samsung Pay platform can only be used on that specific platform and no other.

Samsung makes its first official entrance into the mobile payments field

Mobile Payments Security - VisaSamsung Pay represents Samsung’s first official step into the mobile payments field. The company has supported mobile commerce for some time, incorporating NFC technology into its mobile devices. This technology makes up the majority of the mobile payments infrastructure, and Samsung was one of the companies to make NFC-enabled devices more available to consumers throughout the world. Samsung will have to compete with other large companies that have established a strong position in the mobile commerce space.

Visa will help make mobile commerce more secure for consumers through the use of digital tokens

Visa’s support of Samsung Pay may help make the new mobile payments service wildly popular. The use of digital tokens will make Samsung Pay quite secure, when compared to other payment services. Mobile transactions can be made more secure through the use of biometric technology, as well, but tokenization has received more support from Samsung with its latest mobile device. Samsung Pay will be able to be used online and in physical stores that support mobile payments.