Tag: mobile payments

Mobile commerce could lose traction as byproduct of new legislation

It is not unusual to see businesses get involved in U.S. politics for one reason or another, but eBay is one of the companies that has avoided this involvement in the past. This is due to the fact that there are relatively few laws in the U.S. that govern the world of e-commerce, as well as that of mobile commerce. The laws that do exist have helped create an atmosphere where companies and consumers can conduct business in a balance manner. A new legislation in the U.S. is causing eBay some concern, however, and may even put a damper on the company’s interests in mobile commerce to some degree.

eBay moves to fight Marketplace Fairness Act

eBay CEO John Donahoe has taken issue with legislation known as the Marketplace Fairness Act. Donahoe claims that this legislation will put unfair burdens on all small online merchants. The legislation is designed to provide states the authority to compel online retailers to collect sales tax, even if that retailer is not based within the boundaries of a particular state. Currently, states only impose this authority on physical merchants doing business within state borders. Donahoe claims that the legislation will make it very difficult for online merchants to do business and could severely limit their ability to cater to a large, national market.

Retailer taps users to combat legislation

Donahoe has sent out emails to eBay’s 40 million users, asking for support in opposing this legislation. The legislation could potentially have a significant impact on the mobile commerce space, as it is designed specifically to address issues that exist in e-commerce. Mobile commerce is becoming increasingly popular among consumers, with many favoring to shop online and purchase products using their mobile devices rather than their computers.

Sales tax may make mobile commerce less popular

Imposing a tax on online sales without recognizing any jurisdictional boundaries may make it extremely difficult for mobile commerce to find a significant level of growth in the coming years. One of the reasons mobile commerce is so popular in the U.S. is tied directly to the popularity of e-commerce. That is that state-based sales tax is not collected through purchases made online from digital retailers.

The credit card giant has broadened its offerings in Europe with two new features.

Visa Europe has just announced that it is adding two new features to its mobile payments offerings, with the addition of Immediate Payments and Multi Currency.

These two new features are meant to make the service more convenient and appealing to users.

These services will make it possible for the mobile payments program from Visa to let users make transactions instantly from their smartphones to any other Visa cardholder on the European continent. That will provide a number of benefits, says Visa, to both the sender and the recipient of the funds.

Visa has stated that these two new mobile payments features will become available before the end of 2013.

The purpose of the Multi Currency mobile payments features, explained Visa, was to make it possible to simplify a process that they called expensive and complex, when it comes to being able to send and receive money over the borders of the various countries throughout Europe.

At the same time, the Immediate Payments feature has already become available within the United Kingdom. This mobile payments option will expand throughout other European markets as the year progresses. It is meant to give consumers the chance to be able to receive funds that are sent through Visa Personal Payments within a span of minutes, instead of having to wait for a much longer and drawn out transaction process.

To be able to take advantage of this mobile payments service, consumers will need register and will need to know both the mobile number and the Visa credit card number of the funds recipient.

According to Sandra Alzetta, the senior vice president of Visa Europe, when discussing the industry and these new additions, “Mobile payments have the potential to fundamentally change the way that people pay and are paid. The new Multi Currency and Immediate Payments features combine the convenience of mobile device use with the ability to send money to 460 million Visa cardholders across Europe, solving a problem that millions of consumers face every day – giving money to another individual easily and securely.”