Author: Stephen

SumUp teams with Diffusion to promote mobile commerce

| October 28, 2012

SumUp looks to engage businesses in the UK

SumUp, a mobile payments startup based in the United Kingdom, has been working to help promote mobile commerce within Great Britain and Ireland. In August of this year, SumUp raised more than $20 million for its efforts. Now, the company is looking to put that money to good use and believes that Diffusion, a PR and social media communications agency. Together, the two plan to help boost the adoption of mobile commerce throughout the UK by focusing on businesses within the country.

Diffusion to handle social media efforts and traditional marketing for Sum Up

Diffusion will be handling SumUp’s social media efforts and will be operating traditional marketing campaigns, which will be targeted at businesses that have shown interest in mobile commerce in some way. Diffusion notes that there may be a serious opportunity for growth in the UK and Irish markets, claiming that the number of people with smart phones in these regions is on the rise. Businesses throughout the UK are beginning to feel the pressure to be more accommodating to consumers that want to make purchases using their mobile devices, thus creating more opportunity for SumUp.

Card reader could be a big hit with businesses

SumUp has developed a card reader that can be connected to smart phones and facilitate mobile payments. SumUp believes that the card reader could be a boon for small businesses who see traditional point of sale terminals as expensive investments. The card reader would enable these businesses to process purchases made using a credit card using a simple mobile device rather than a static payment terminal.

Growth of mobile commerce presents powerful opportunity for SumUp

SumUp has chosen Diffusion for this initiative because the agency has extensive experience in the various markets within the UK. Mobile commerce is on the rise throughout the country, and SumUp is keen to establish powerful ties to companies that can help it reach a new generation of mobile consumer. The company will have to face down some strong competition coming from Square, Orange, and even Google, if it wants to find success in this expanding industry.

Square to bring Mobile Card Reader to Canada

| October 27, 2012

 

Mobile Card Reader to expand beyond US

Square, a maker of mobile commerce products, has announced that its Mobile Card Reader will soon be available in Canada. The move aims to engage the growing number of consumers in the country that are showing interest in mobile commerce. The Mobile Card Reader will allow both businesses and consumers to make transactions directly from a smart phone or tablet. This is a physical product, which is available for free, that can be used on both the Android and iOS platforms.

Mobile commerce growing quickly in Canada

Mobile commerce is growing in popularity largely due to the concept that it is more convenient than traditional forms of commerce. Using a smart phone, consumers can pay for goods and services with a simple gesture. For some, this is considered an innovative way to pay for things. For others, it is just another way to make purchases. Whatever the reaction from consumers is, their interest in mobile commerce is growing, as is the demand for platforms that will allow them to make purchases using their mobiles devices.

Device accounts for $8 billion in transactions each yearSquare Mobile Card Reader

Though the Mobile Card Reader is free, Square is still able to make a profit off the platform. The company charges a 2.75% fee each time a transaction is made using the platform. According to Square, the platform facilitates more than $8 billion transactions every year. Considering that Square has only operated in the U.S., until very recently, the platform has proven itself to be quite successful. Bringing the Mobile Card Reader into the Canadian market will be Square’s first time expanding beyond the U.S.

Device allows smart phones to become mobile payment platform without native NFC technology

The progress and adoption of mobile commerce is being heavily delayed by the availability of NFC-enabled mobile devices. The low supply of these devices means that consumer engagement in mobile commerce is limited. The Mobile Card Reader solves this problem by being equipped with its own NFC chip, allowing any smart phone or tablet to become a viable mobile payment platform.