Author: Lucy

Mobile wallet may be in the works at LG

| October 20, 2015

One of the major providers of Android based smartphones in the United States may be entering into mobile payments.

According to recent reports and rumors that are becoming increasingly widespread online, LG Electronics is in the midst of an effort to develop and launch its own native mobile wallet app.

These headlines have come into the spotlight after the company made a trademark filing for names suggesting payments.

The names that have caused speculation about a native mobile wallet from the company are “G Pay” and “LG G Pay”. These trademark filings were made both in South Korea and the United States, according to a number of reports including ETNews from South Korea. The trademark claims were apparently for functions that were “related to data transmission” with regards to both smartphones and smartwatches.

There have also been a number of others steps taken by LG that suggest a potential mobile wallet.

New Mobile Wallet App May LaunchAmong the moves that LG has taken that indicate that it is interested in stepping into mobile payments include the Watch Urbane LTE smartwatch from the company which includes NFC (near field communication) technology. This is the same tech used by a large number of the mobile payments platforms that are already in existence. This would make it possible for devices to complete transactions at a checkout counter.

Also a component of the speculations was the statement made by Kim Jong Hoon, the director of LG Electronics, when he said that the company had been considering an expansion into smartphone payments at a media conference this month for new hardware from the company.

This would make LG the fourth launch of a mobile wallet in the United States from a major company, since 2014. The primary competition that LG will be facing within this sector is likely from Google and its Android Pay. The reason is that because LG’s devices are Android based, it would give consumers the choice between the two apps. Moreover, it could even be that both of those mobile apps could come pre-installed on the devices. Therefore, consumers would be most likely to choose from between the two applications that are already there, as opposed to downloading an alternative.

Mobile payments deal reached in Thailand with VocaLink

| October 15, 2015

The company from the U.K. has now connected itself with the interbank payments network in the Asia Pacific Country

VocaLink, from the United Kingdom, has now signed an exclusive letter of intent with Thailand’s interbank payments network operator, National ITMX, in order to look into the development of a mobile payments system that would function over real time within the APAC nation.

VocaLink is the company behind the operation of the Faster Payments rails in the U.K., among other projects.

Under the Zapp brand, the company will also be launching a national “Pay by bank” mobile payments app in the U.K., with the support of that country’s banks. The architecture for the Faster Payments system has already been implemented in Singapore, where it is the foundation for the Fast payments service in that country. Now, VocaLink will collaborate with NITMX in order to offer real time smartphone transaction services to merchants, banks, and consumers, built on an instant payment capability platform based on the ISO20022 standard.

National ITMX selected VocaLink as a mobile payments partner due to its strong and extensive history.

thailand mobile paymentsThe managing director of National ITMX, Wanna Notarbhorn, explained that “We chose VocaLink as a key partner because of their proven track record in the delivery of both the UK Faster Payments Service and Singapore’s ISO20022 FAST real-time payments systems. We believe they are best placed to help us identify options for delivering efficient and reliable mobile payments services in Thailand.”

From the time of the Faster Payments program launch in the United Kingdom in 2008, the system has processed more than 4 billion secure transactions. The VocaLink managing director of strategy, products, marketing and business development, Paul Stoddard, stated that this experience in the United Kingdom is a direct reflection of the benefits offered through real time tech throughout the payments sector and into the broader economy.

The mobile payments partnership between the two companies was first announced in Singapore at the international Sibos conference. That event placed smartphone based transactions under an important spotlight when it came to worldwide introduction and adoption by businesses and consumers alike.