Tag: American Express

Mobile payments firm wins backing of Groupon and American Express

| June 4, 2013

SumUp wins funding to expand mobile payments services

A mobile payments startup based in Berlin, Germany, has received the financial backing of large companies like Groupon and American Express recently. SumUp is a relatively new startup company that currently operates in 11 European countries and has helped expand mobile payments throughout the region. Consumers have been growing more comfortable with the idea of mobile commerce and have been demanding new services that are more comprehensive and more convenient for their needs.

Company may be able to establish stronger foothold in Europe

SumUp has announced that it has raised several million dollars in funding from companies that are interested in its approach to mobile payments. The funding is expected to help SumUp expand the services it offers throughout Europe. While mobile commerce has managed to establish a strong foothold in Europe, it is still considered a young sector that faces significant challenges that can derail growth and progress. Appropriate levels of funding could help mobile payments overcome these challenges and find better traction throughout the world.

Mobile Payments - Support from Groupon and American ExpressLarge companies currently dominating mobile commerce field

SumUp is not the only mobile payments firm operating in Europe. Several larger companies, such as PayPal, have begun to muscle into the mobile commerce sector in the region, all looking to establish some rapport with consumers and make them more comfortable with the concept of making mobile payments. Whether SumUp will be able to compete with these larger companies is uncertain, but the firm may be able to beat out smaller competitors that exist in the market.

UK consumers show great deal of love for mobile payments

Thus far, consumers in the United Kingdom have been the most willing to embrace mobile commerce. The country already has a robust mobile payments infrastructure. Several companies in the UK have embraced mobile payments, creating a highly competitive environment that has been unaccommodating to smaller companies that are not backed by significant funding. Fortunately for SumUp, both Groupon and American Express have considerable faith in the company.

Mobile commerce embraced by Twitter

| February 13, 2013

mobile commerce twitter amexTwitter takes aims at mobile commerce with the help of American Express

Twitter is one of the world’s most used social networks. The network boasts of a highly active user base, which has afforded the company significant success in the world of business. Twitter has reportedly been looking for new ways to generate revenue. Such reports seem to have been true as the social network has entered into a partnership with American Express. The partnership will be focused on introducing e-commerce and mobile commerce elements into Twitter.

Mobile user base adds momentum to Twitter’s initiative in e-commerce

Twitter has been showing a strong interest in e-commerce in recent months. The massive number of users that access Twitter through their mobile devices has also piqued the company’s interest in mobile commerce. The company sees major potential in this field and has turned to American Express to help it tap into the burgeoning mobile commerce market that has been successful for other companies.

Users will be able to purchase products by posting to Twitter

Per the partnership, American Express customers will be able to associate their credit card numbers with their Twitter accounts. This will allow consumers to make purchases by simply posting to Twitter. This initiative will be introduced over the next few days, with Twitter users able to purchase products from American Express itself, as well as Amazon and products from Donna Karan. Because Twitter’s primary demographic is mobile consumers, the move is expected to help establish the social network’s presence in the mobile commerce space.

Success of new initiative has yet to be seen

This is not the first time American Express has introduced a mobile commerce element to a social network. Last year, the financial services company partnered with Foursquare for a similar initiative. Twitter expects to see significant benefits from its adoption of mobile commerce and suggests that there will be major marketing opportunities for businesses using the social network due to the new partnership. Whether consumers will respond well to the mobile commerce services that Twitter is adopted has yet to be seen.