Tag: Apple Pay

Apple acquires mobile payments specialist from Visa

| October 1, 2014

Mary Carol Harris joins Apple, bringing her extensive mobile payments experience with her

Apple has made an aggressive move in the mobile payments space. The company has successfully acquired Mary Carol Harris, the former director of mobile for Visa Europe. Harris has significant experience in the mobile space, especially when it comes to payments. She also has expertise with NFC technology, which is the foundation of the new Apple Pay service. Apple’s acquisition of Harris may go a long way in improving the company’s stance in the European mobile commerce market.

Apple is working to establish a strong foothold in the European market

Apple Pay intends to change the way that people pay for goods and services, leveraging contactless technology in order to make payments more convenient for consumers. The service is already being heavily supported by a wide variety of financial institutions, including Visa itself. In the U.S., Apple Pay has been met with excitement, but this is not the case in other parts of the world. In Europe, the demand for mobile commerce services has been quite high, but consumers have become quite comfortable with the services that they are currently using, which may make it difficult for Apple Pay to stand out amongst the competition.

Harris could be pivotal to Apple’s European goals

Mobile Payments NewsMary Carol Harris has 14 years of experience in digital and mobile payments. Before joining Visa, she ran Telefonica’s NFC division. She served as Visa Europe’s vice president in charge of strategic alliances and projects in mobile thereafter. Harris has extensive experience in creating mobile payment systems and she was one of the pioneers of payments via SMS. She may serve as a powerful ally in Apple’s push into the European market.

Apple looks to partner with European financial organizations

Apple is hoping to form partnerships with European financial institutions that mirror its partnerships with organizations in the U.S. By partnering with European banks, Apple will be able to make its new mobile payments service more widely available. The Apple Pay service supports NFC technology, but only works with payments being made from an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.

Banks could see fee revenue drop because of mobile payments

| September 30, 2014

Australians planning to purchase a new iPhone could avoid bank fees

The new iPhone 6 may have an impact on bank fee revenue in Australia, according to a report from Roy Morgan Research. The report shows that more than 1.5 million consumers throughout Australia have plans to purchase an iPhone within the next 12 months. While buying a new mobile device would not usually affect banking revenues, the new iPhone will serve as a mobile payments platform, supported by the Apple Pay service. The service could do away with banking fees entirely.

Report shows that many people planning to buy a new iPhone are already aware of mobile payments

The report shows that many people planning to purchase a new iPhone are already familiar with mobile payments. An estimated 29.4% of consumers in the country make a mobile payment regularly throughout any given month and these people are likely to embrace Apple Pay with enthusiasm. Many financial institutions are supporting the new payment service, but in doing so they may see reductions in the revenue they acquire through fees.

Younger consumers may be more apt to use Apple Pay

Australia Mobile PaymentsThose planning to make use of the Apple Pay service in Australia are also considered to have a “high spend potential.” The report shows that many of these people have a higher than average household income, but are not necessarily knowledgeable about mobile commerce. Younger consumers are expected to use the Apple Pay service more regularly, while older consumers may favor traditional commerce platforms that they have become quite comfortable with.

New mobile commerce services allow consumers to avoid bank fees

Mobile payments are becoming more common throughout Australia and the demand for mobile services is on the rise. Banks are beginning to accommodate this demand by offering their support to services like Apple Pay, but in doing so these banks may be exposing themselves to new risks. One of these risks involves a drop in fee revenue. Services like Apple Pay often allow consumers to avoid certain services offered by banks, which allows people to also avoid bank fees.