Tag: mobile commerce news

Innovation may power growth in the mobile commerce sector

| December 23, 2015

Innovation could change the way people use their mobile devices to shop

Continued innovation may power the growth of mobile commerce. The sector is still in a relatively nascent stage, which makes it prime for innovation. Retailers, in particular, may bring new things to the mobile commerce sector as they continually seek out better ways to engage consumers. Target has reportedly begun developing its own mobile payments service, which it intends to launch at some point next year. Retailers are not the only ones bringing new services to the mobile commerce space, of course, as social media companies have also begun doing so.

Pinterest is showing more support for mobile commerce

Pinterest has been working to better support mobile payments, making it possible for users to purchase Pins they are interested in. The social networking site is now notifying users when products they are interested in drop in price, making them more financially attractive. This has proven particularly popular during the holiday season, but Pinterest has had trouble promoting mobile commerce among its user base overall. Forrester Research suggested that the launch of the company’s mobile commerce initiative was “weak” due to the limited inventory that merchants have.

New technology is making mobile shopping more convenient and secure

Mobile Commerce - Innovation to power growthIntroducing new services and features to the mobile commerce sector has made consumers more interested in the concept of mobile shopping. Notably, consumers are quite interested in services that they consider to be convenient. Security is also a major issue for many consumers, which has lead to the introduction of new security technologies that are designed to improve the mobile payments space as a whole. Biometric technology, in particular, has become a powerful tool for keeping consumer information safe.

Companies are looking to improve their mobile commerce platforms

Many companies involved in the mobile commerce space have been testing new services in an effort to make mobile shopping easier and more attractive to consumers. As more innovation comes to the sector, services that already exist are likely to improve, offering consumers better options when it comes to shopping and purchasing products with their mobile devices.

UnionPay to launch new mobile payments platform in China

| December 22, 2015

UnionPay and Powa Technologies team to expand mobile payments options in China

China’s UnionPay is entering into the mobile payments space. The bank, which is one of China’s largest financial institutions, has entered into a partnership with Powa Technologies, a company that has been involved in the mobile payments space for some time. Together, the two organizations will be working with one another in order to bring new solutions to consumers in China, which will bring more competition into the mobile payments sector and ensure the continued growth of this sector in the coming years.

Companies will launch joint venture in the Guangdong Province next year

UnionPay accounts for some 1.3 million credit and debit card users in the country and is also the world’s largest merchant acquirer, representing some 6 million merchants. Powa Technologies notes that the two companies are expected to launch a joint venture in the first quarter of 2016. This joint venture will be responsible for the launch of a new mobile payments platform, which will initially be available in the Guangdong Province, which has a population of more than 106 million, many of whom are beginning to rely on their mobile devices to shop and pay their bills.

PowaTag will be used for the new mobile payments platform

Mobile Payments PartnershipThe new mobile payments platform will be using technology developed by Powa Technologies, called PowaTag. The company is working with UnionPay to develop a special version of PowaTag, which will be more attuned to the needs of consumers in China. The platform will focus on the online-to-offline (O2O) market, which is generated some $47 billion in China alone during the first half of this year.

China continues to show itself as a leading mobile payments market

Mobile payments have experienced explosive growth in China, where large companies like Alibaba and Tencent have established a major lead in the sector. Foreign companies have been attempting to enter China’s mobile payments markets, but many of the country’s banks have proven to be resistant to their efforts. China is expected to continue growing as a leading mobile commerce market in the coming years, especially as smartphone penetration continues to grow.