Author: JT

Turbulence rocks mobile commerce partnership

| June 1, 2013

Mobile commerce deal between VeriFone and the Taxicab Commission goes sour

VeriFone, a leading developer of point-of-sale technologies, has been making strong progress in the field of mobile commerce recently. The company has seen the demand for mobile point-of-sale systems grow in recent years and has been working to accommodate the needs of its customers, many of whom have shown aggressive interest in mobile payments. VeriFone recently entered into a deal with the Taxicab Commission of Washington D.C. The partnership had started relatively well, but soon encountered significant problems that eventually lead to significant turbulence.

Mobile commerce is growing in popularity, but problems still exist

While mobile commerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, not all of the news that comes from this field can be good all the time. The partnership between VeriFone and the Taxicab Commission is one example of this and the partnership may serve as an example of the perils that exist in the mobile commerce field. Due to the relative youth of mobile commerce, the challenges that companies face in this field are still somewhat unknown and partnerships that run into these challenges may be able to provide some degree of insight on how such challenges can be overcome or avoided altogether.

Mobile commerce partnership goes sourPartnership had sought to bring mobile commerce into taxi transportation

The partnership between VeriFone and the Taxicab Commission was meant to install smart meters into the cabs that operate in Washington D.C. These smart meters would facilitate mobile payments, allowing consumers to pay cab fares with their mobile devices rather than traditional forms of currency. The adoption of smart meters was considered a good business move due to the growing number of consumers that are becoming more reliant on their smartphones and tablets. The Taxicab Commission had initially been enthusiastic regarding the partnership, but quickly sought to back away from the deal it had made with VeriFone.

VeriFone notes strong interest in mobile commerce field remains clear among many companies

VeriFone is now claiming that the Taxicab Commission owes the company as much as $18.5 million. Most of these expenses come from cancellation fees that had been negotiated prior to the finalization of the partnership between the two companies. While the partnership between the two companies has fallen through, VeriFone notes that mobile commerce is still a field where many merchants and other businesses are showing a great deal of interest.

Swish set to show off new security solutions for mobile payments

| May 30, 2013

Mobile payments to benefit from new security solutions

Security has become a top priority for the mobile payments space. Consumers have shown that they are willing to embrace mobile payments systems, but still retain a great deal of concern regarding the security of their financial information. The security of mobile payments has been attracting more attention as mobile commerce sees more adoption. Many consumers continue to express worry over the security of their financial information, suggesting that modern mobile payments systems have yet to reach a point where they can be considered safe to use.

Security begins receiving more serious attention

As consumers continue to show worry over their security, companies invested in mobile payments are beginning to take the issue more seriously. Such is the cash with Swish, which has been involved in the mobile commerce space for some time. Like other companies in this sector, Swish considers security to be a major roadblock for mobile payments. As such, the company has been working to develop more comprehensive security solutions to provide consumers with some peace of mind. Swish plans to begin showcasing its security solutions at the end of this month.

Mobile Payments SecuritySwish intends to showcase security solutions at the end of the month

Swish is one of the first companies to introduce mobile point-of-sale systems to the Asian market. Mobile payments have found a great deal of success in this market due to the high penetration of mobile technology. While consumers have been showing that they are ready to embrace mobile commerce, many still consider the field to be insecure, which has slowed the progress that mobile payments could potentially see. Swish intends for its security solutions to boost the confidence consumers have in the sector.

Mobile payments becoming a popular target for hackers

The security of mobile payments is not only important to Asian consumers, of course, and those in other parts of the world share the same concerns regarding the security of mobile commerce. Because mobile commerce involves the trafficking of financial information through mobile devices, the mobile commerce field has become a very attractive target for hackers and malicious groups that may look to exploit this information.