Tag: mobile payments

Apple Pay has established a dominant position in mobile payments

| February 26, 2015

Apple’s payment service becomes more popular in the US market

Apple Pay is taking over the mobile payments space, while its potential rivals struggle to find traction with consumers. The service launched in October of last year, and has managed to acquire a strong amount of support in a relatively short period of time. Retailers have partnered with Apple to support the payment service, hoping that it will allow them to connect with consumers that like to shop from their mobile devices.

Apple Pay accounts for two-thirds of all mobile payments made in the US

According to the Robert Baird analyst group, Apple Pay now accounts for two-thirds of the mobile payments market in the United States. For the retailers that supported Apple Pay at launch, mobile payment volume has increased by a significant margin. Whole Foods, one of Apple Pay’s launch partners, has reported that the mobile payments it has received have grown by more than 400%. Other retailers have reported similar results because of the payment service and its ability to connect with mobile consumers.

Low number of vendors may continue to support Apple Pay

Apple and Mobile Payments Though Apple Pay is being supported by some big-name retailers, there are still a relatively small number of vendors that use the payment service. Analysts believe that there will be relatively little change in this trend in the coming years. Mobile payments are quite attractive to retailers, but this does not mean that these businesses will support Apple Pay specifically. There are other payment services that offer features that could be more attractive to certain types of businesses and these services are available for the Android platform. Apple Pay is only available for iOS devices.

Apple may have some competition coming from Samsung in the future

Apple Pay’s growing popularity may be stymied in the future by the launch of other payment services. Samsung is rumored to be releasing its own mobile payments service in the near future. Both Apple and Samsung have been competitive with one another in the mobile technology space for years, with Samsung having recently established a modest lead in the device market.

Google aims to expand its mobile payments platform

| February 26, 2015

Google to acquire Softcard technology in deal with major carriers

Google will be expanding the reach of its Google Wallet platform, and Softcard may be the way to accomplish this. Softcard is a joint venture from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile, which was formerly known as Isis. The platform’s name was changed to avoid political issues that have emerged in recent years. Google has made a deal with the companies responsible for Softcard, which could help make Wallet one of the most popular mobile payments platforms currently available for Android devices.

Softcard technology could improve the Wallet platform and make it more attractive to consumers

According to the deal, Google will acquire Softcard’s technology, which Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile will pre-load Google Wallet on mobile devices that will be available in stores later this year. This could significantly expand the reach of Google Wallet, which had struggle to obtain consumer attention due to the launch of new mobile payments platforms, such as Apple Pay. The deal could also give Wallet access to better technology, which had previously been exclusive to Softcard.

Lack of NFC support cripples the growth of some mobile payments services

Google Mobile PaymentsGoogle has had trouble finding traction in the mobile payments space. The company initially only had one device carrier that wanted to support the Wallet platform, while relatively few device makers opted to support the platform’s key technology: NFC. The low availability of NFC-enabled mobile devices made Wallet relatively unpopular among consumers because the platform required this technology to function properly. Softcard experienced similar problems, with retailers being slow to adopt the NFC technology needed to support the mobile payments service.

Deal may help Wallet compete with other mobile payments ventures

Those using Softcard currently will still be able to use the platform in the future. Google Wallet will begin integrating some of the features that Softcard has received praise for while Google continues to improve its mobile payments infrastructure. Wallet will still have to face competition from Apple and, potentially, Samsung, both of whom have expressed strong desire to become dominant in the mobile payments space.