Tag: digital wallet

Mobile payments U.S. rollout from Isis this year

| August 8, 2013

The smartphone wallet joint venture rumors have been flying and finally an announcement has come.

Though Isis has not seen a tremendous amount of use in its two pilot cities of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Dallas, Texas, it has now reached the point that this mobile payments solution will be expanding to the nationwide scene.

This digital wallet is the result of the efforts of Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile U.S., and AT&T Mobility.

The rumor mill had been closely following this project, as the mobile payments market continues to become increasingly swamped with players, and has been waiting for the solution to be rolled out across the United States. Finally, the news has come and the companies involved in the joint venture have confirmed that it will be available across the country before the year is done.

The mobile payments wallet will be available to more customers and in more locations.

U.S. Isis Mobile PaymentsThe Isis mobile payments solution has undergone a lengthy trial period for three quarters of a year. According to the chief executive officer of Isis, Michael Abbott, “Over the past nine months, we have proven the power of an open platform, creating an ecosystem of literally hundreds of partners dedicated to making mobile commerce a reality.”

Abbott went on to talk about this mobile payments project, saying that “As part of our commitment to consumers, we are incorporating feedback from our pilots into the next generation of the Isis Mobile Wallet as we prepare for national availability later this year.”

In order to use the Isis mobile payments wallet, consumers must have a smartphone with NFC technology. This is the tech that is required for paying, redeeming coupons, and using loyalty cards simply by tapping their smartphones against a reader device. At the moment, only a small percentage of smartphones are equipped with the necessary technology. It is, however, slowly growing in popularity among the manufacturers.

Currently, the only devices that are compatible with the Isis mobile payments are Android based, but the company has stated that it will soon make the digital wallet ready for iOS, Windows Phone 8, and BlackBerry 10.

QR codes marketers to gain mobile wallet detection

| June 27, 2013

Skycore has allowed quick response barcode using advertisers to be able to detect digital wallet scans.

Leading mobile technology provider, Skycore LLC, has just revealed that it is adding smartphone wallet detection to its mobile marketing platform through the use of the scans of QR codes.

Whenever a barcode is scanned, the SaaS platform from the company offers detection.

When there are scans of the QR codes, the SaaS platform can selectively display web content to standard barcode reader applications or issue pass files to wallet apps. This technology makes it possible for brands to be able to use a single barcode for consumers to use, instead of having to create one to pass issuance and another one for the web content.

This announcement aligns with the company’s belief that iOS 7 will enable scanning of QR codes within the Passbook app.

QR Codes ScanSkycore intends to release a similar functionality based on QR codes within the Android app from PassWallet, which is currently in its beta release.

Typically speaking, when QR codes are scanned by the majority of reader apps, the URL that is embedded will launch web content. However, by adding passes instantly to wallets, then the URL that is embedded will point directly to a specific pass file, instead. It will be easier for consumers to add passes using wallets that offer barcode scanning. However, at the same time, they will pose a challenge for brands to be able to support both web content and instant passes using a single barcode.

According to the CEO of Skycore, Rich Eicher, “By detecting whether the scan source is a wallet or a standard scanning app, we can selectively serve the proper pass file or alternatively serve mobile-optimized web content. This enables brands to display a single QR code at the point of interest.”

The mobile marketing platform at Skycore uses QR codes, SMS/MMS, and smartphone optimized web pages and emails for pass delivery. The company is based in Boston and first opened in 2003 to help to leverage mobile commerce and payments. It is designed to help to make it more convenient for both companies and consumers to be able to use these services by way of their mobile devices.