Category: Mobile Payments

Google’s mobile payments service could launch in a matter of days

| August 27, 2015

Android Pay may be on the way sooner than expected

Google may have plans to launch its new mobile payments service, Android Pay, sooner than expected. According to a notice sent to some of Android Pay’s retail partners, such as McDonald’s, employees are being trained to understand what mobile payments are and how to assist customers making such transactions. These notices suggest that Android Pay will actually become available on August 26 or very shortly thereafter, but there is no telling whether or not Google’s new service will find success.

Google has had trouble with mobile payments in the past

Google already has a position in the mobile payments market, having launched its first platform, Google Wallet, some years ago. The Wallet platform experienced a turbulent launch, with some security issues leaving consumers wary of the concept of mobile transactions. Google has been working to improve the Wallet service and it has begun to generate momentum among consumers, but the company may be showing more priority for Android Pay in the future. Google does not have plans to kill its Wallet service, however, and both services are likely to work alongside one another.

Android Pay already has significant support

Google Mobile PaymentsAndroid Pay already has significant support in many parts of the United States. Once launched, the service will be accepted in more than 700,000 stores throughout the country. Transactions and financial information will be protected by biometric technology, with a user’s fingerprint serving as the key that unlocks the mobile payments service.

Google will have to fight Apple and Samsung in order to find success in the mobile payments field

Google will be competing directly with both Samsung and Apple, both of whom have their own mobile payments services. Apple has, perhaps, established a more formidable foothold in the market, as its payment service was launched last year and has already attracted significant consumer support. Apple plans to launch its service in the United Kingdom in the near future. Samsung is currently testing its own payment service in South Korea, with plans to launch the service at some point later this year.

India holds vast promise in the mobile commerce space

| August 26, 2015

Entrepreneurs in India could find success in the growing mobile commerce market

India may be home to vast, untapped potential when it comes to mobile commerce. A recent summit of students from the Indian Institute of Management and the Indian Institute of Technology attracted many professionals in the mobile sector. These professionals highlighted the promise of mobile commerce, largely due to the growth of smartphone penetration throughout the country. With more consumers using their mobile devices to shop online, retailers are beginning to invest heavily in mobile commerce.

More than 800 technology startups are launched in India every year, with many being mobile-centric

According to Ganesh Natarajan, CEO of Zensar Technologies and former chairman of NASSCOM, technology entrepreneurship in India leads to more than 800 new startups being launched every year. A growing number of these startups are focused on the mobile space, either providing consumers with a way to shop and pay for products online or give retailers a way to serve mobile consumers more effectively. The growing number of mobile startups is leading more consumers to become more active in the mobile commerce space.

India continues to outpace other countries as a leading mobile commerce market

Mobile Commerce - IndiaIndia is one of the world’s fastest growing mobile commerce markets, rivaled only by China. Several organizations have begun to flock to the country in order to take advantage of growing number of mobile consumers. These organizations are launching mobile services or taking majority stakes in companies that have already established a foothold in the mobile commerce space. Alibaba is one such company.

Alibaba sees major promise in India’s mobile commerce market, offering financial support to some platforms

Alibaba has already found success in China’s bustling mobile commerce market, but it has begun to set its sights on the Indian market as well. Alibaba has invested in some of India’s leading mobile payments platforms, hoping to encourage growth throughout the country. Such growth could benefit Alibaba in the future, as the global e-commerce market has become so interconnected that retailers can find success in several markets at once.