New application makes use of QR codes to make mobile payments easier for consumers
Bancontact, a Belgian electronic payments firm, has launched a new mobile application that will help introduce a new service into the realm of mobile commerce. Consumers around the world have shown strong interest in mobile commerce, which includes online shopping, banking, and payment transfers. In order to meet the demands coming from consumers regarding comprehensive mobile commerce services, Bancontact has introduced a new application, which focuses on the use of QR codes.
Codes may be very useful for personal transactions
QR codes are most commonly used in mobile marketing and have excelled in this particular field. The codes allow consumers to access digital information from their smartphones and tablets. The codes have begun seeing use in the field of mobile commerce, with retailers like Tesco using them to facilitate electronic payments for products. Bancontact believes that the codes could be especially useful in helping consumers transfer funds to one another.
QR codes generated by the application can be used to initiate payments
The new application from Bancontact leverages QR codes to allow users to send money to each other. The application could be particularly beneficial for those that operate their own businesses as it allows them to accept electronic payments for their goods and services more easily. The application can be used to generate a QR code that is associated with a certain amount of money. When this code is scanned by another person, they will be able to make a payment directly to the code’s owner.
Codes may soon become powerful mobile commerce tool
Currently, the application can only facilitate payments of up to $20. The application is available for the Android and iOS platforms and is available to Bancount’s 15 million cardholders. Bancount believes that the application will help draw more attention to QR codes and their use in mobile commerce. The codes are likely to remain a very powerful mobile marketing tool, but may soon become one of the most widely used mobile commerce tools.
ShopSpot mobile commerce platform wins more funding
ShopSpot, a mobile commerce startup based in Thailand, has announced that it has raised $630,000 in investments, much of which came from Jungle Ventures and SingTel Innov8. The company’s mobile commerce application of the same name is designed to be easy to use in order to be universally accommodating to consumers of all kinds. ShopSpot notes that ease-of-use is one of the most important aspects of mobile commerce that is often overlooked by many of the larger companies that are involved in the mobile market.
Application offers several innovative features to consumers
The mobile commerce application does not only allow consumers to purchase products using their mobile device; it also allows them to shop for products that they are interested in. The application can use location-based information to help consumers find products in an efficient manner. It also enables consumers to communicate directly with a retailer, though retailers are unlikely to participate in this communication due the lack of staff committed to chatting with individual consumers.
Monetization absent from ShopSpot
Notably, the application does not have its own monetization model in place. ShopSpot does not impose any fees on transactions made through the application and does not offer advertising services to companies. This may be due to a trend that has emerged in the Asian market wherein many consumers will avoid applications that charge them for services. As such, many mobile commerce applications that have been launched in Asia have seen modest success as the majority of these applications charge consumers for every transaction they make.
Investments keeps ShopSpot afloat
Investments will help keep ShopSpot going for the foreseeable future, but the company may have to introduce some kind of monetization system eventually. Whether consumers will be willing to embrace the application after such a system is in place is difficult to know for sure. For now, the application helps fill a gap that has existed in Thailand burgeoning mobile commerce market, making it well received among many consumers.
