Tag: mobile payments

Samsung plans to launch a new smartwatch later this year

Samsung is planning to launch a smartwatch during the second half of this year and the company has plans to give the device the ability to make mobile payments. The South Korean company has been playing a larger role in the mobile commerce space in recent years and has announced that it will launch its own mobile payments service this year. Samsung Pay is expected to launch in the coming months and may come pre-installed on the company’s new smartwatch.

Wearable devices could become powerful mobile payments tools

Smartwatches are beginning to gain more attention from consumers. These devices function in much the same way that smartphones do, but they can be worn rather than carried. Wearable devices have somewhat limited functionality, but they could become powerful tools in the mobile commerce space. Because smartwatches are worn on the wrist, they are more accessible and can make mobile payments somewhat more convenient for consumers.

Device will come equipped with NFC technology and, possibly, Samsung Pay

The smartwatch that Samsung intends to launch will make use of NFC technology to make mobile payments possible. This technology allows digital information to be transmitted over short distances. NFC has served as the backbone of the mobile commerce space for several years and is used in many mobile commerce platforms. Some organizations have begun to move away from NFC technology in order to make mobile payments more accessible to those without NFC-enabled devices, but this technology remains the prominent aspect of the mobile commerce world.

Samsung will have to fight to compete with other companies that have established a lead in the mobile commerce space

Samsung has said that it plans to release its new mobile payments service at some point in July, but there is no clear release date at this time. Samsung has not yet announced a release date for its new smartwhatch either. The company is falling somewhat behind its competitors when it comes to mobile payments, but it may manage to catch up if it can provide consumers with an enjoyable and convenient service.

While half of all American retail transactions are still completed in cash, smartphones may soon change that.

When it comes to retail purchases in-store in the United States, about 50 percent are still being completed with cash, but according to Ajay Banga, the CEO of MasterCard, mobile payments will start to change that, and it won’t be long before it happens.

Banga spoke of his opinion on mobile solutions at the Deutsche Bank Global Financial Services Investor Conference.

He explained that the area in which mobile payments will make the most striking impact is in the percentage of transactions that it will be taking from cash as opposed to plastic cards. He said that he feels that smartphone based transactions are the way ahead, pointing out that in the United States, we feel as though credit and debit cards are essentially ubiquitous, but when it all comes down to it, half of all purchases are made with cash.

Both mobile payments and cash are being used primarily for smaller ticket purchases.

While smartphones may not be making much of a dent into larger purchases, people do seem willing to buy with their mobile devices with the total is a smaller one. That also happens to be the area in which people are most likely to pay with cash. Therefore, what Banga is predicting is that it will be cash, not necessarily plastic cards, that will start to be replaced by the use of these devices at the checkout counter.

Therefore, for items like a cup of coffee, picking up a container of milk at the supermarket on the way home from work, or picking up a pack of gum at the convenience store, a rising number of transactions will be completed through the use of m-payments instead of cash. This may also start to have an impact in other areas that have been traditionally based on cash transactions, such as taxi fares, which are still relatively new to the credit card scene.

Mobile payments are still trying to find their place when it comes to adoption and regular use and, if MasterCard’s CEO is right, it isn’t the credit card transactions that will be taken over by this technology, but the cash ones.