Windows Phone gets mobile payments thanks to Fortumo
Mobile payments have been growing very popular with consumers around the world. For those without Android or iOS devices, however, mobile payments are little more than a fancy idea. That is about to change thanks to Fortumo, an international mobile payments provider. This week, the company announced the launch of a new mobile payments application for Windows Phone. This makes Fortumo the first third-party provider of mobile commerce services on Microsoft platforms.
New platform makes mobile payments possible on Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices
The new application features cross-platform capabilities, making it available for the Windows 8 operating system, Windows RT, and Windows Phone. The application allows for mobile payments to be made through other applications, such as mobile games. Payments can also be facilitated through applications on laptops and desktops that run any version of Windows 8. Notably, the platform is designed with game developers in mind.
Mobile games may benefit from new platform
Mobile games have become a very powerful force in the game industry. Many developers have made their fortunes through a strong focus on mobile games. The reason these games have so much financial potential is because of
advertising and their ability to foster in-app purchases. Most mobile games offer some form of virtual currency or the opportunity to unlock additional content for a modest price. Consumers have a proclivity for these mobile payments because they offer some form of measurable game, at least in an entertainment capacity.
Fortumo aims to bring more developers to Windows Phone
Fortumo suggests that its new application can help game developers engage mobile consumers more effectively. Mobile games that allow for mobile payments are more likely to find success in the gaming market due to factors such as convenience and access to additional content. Fortumo aims to help developers become more accepting of the Windows Phone platform, on which it has been difficult to monetize mobile games in the past.
Information about a new system on the Windows Phone platform has just been released involving Zero-Effort.
Microsoft has just released a considerable amount of detail regarding its new system for mobile payments that could considerable improve the appeal of its Windows Phone platform, as it will give smartphone users the ability to make a purchase without any effort at all.
This will allow consumers to buy products or services without ever needing to make a move.
Many of the smartphone manufacturers and other internet giants are taking sizeable steps into the mobile payments ecosystem, such as the payWave from Visa on the Samsung Galaxy 4, and the new Google Wallet making its way through its pilot period in two American cities for several months.
While many of the big players are focusing on NFC technology for mobile payments, Microsoft has looked elsewhere.
Microsoft’s mobile payments strategy was an exploration of how a consumer could make a purchase without having to mess around with the handset at a point of sale. It has labeled the style a “Zero-Effort Payment” (ZEP).
Microsoft Research representative, Sefan Saroiu, one of the team members who was a part of the development of the ZEP mobile payments, explained that this system would give merchants the ability to provide their customers with a more personalized service. For instance, they would be able to provide frequent shopper discounts without the need for the customer to carry a membership or loyalty card.
This mobile payments system functions through the integration of Bluetooth technology, in combination with face recognition technology that is worked right into its gaming system, called Kinect. When a user who is signed up for the service enters a participating store, it is detected by the Bluetooth system. When a customer is ready to pay, the face recognition system identifies him or her.
The Bluetooth system is able to determine that the participating customer has actually entered a store, but it is the face recognition that takes it a step further by identifying the unique individual customer who is at the checkout counter. That said, while the face recognition technology is not accurate enough to provide a completely precise recognition, when combined with the Bluetooth technology, it is capable of narrowing down the individual’s potential identity very tightly.
