Tag: mobile payments application

This startup has launched in the United Kingdom and is already targeting 20 million users in the next 4 years.

Zapp, a mobile payments company in the United Kingdom, has vowed that it will reach 20 million users by the close of the year 2017, which would bring them to a size in which they would be considered a rival to more traditional giants in the transaction industry, such as Visa or MasterCard, by the time the decade is done.

This service was implemented earlier this year by VocaLink with the goal of boosting real time transactions.

The purpose was to bring the Zapp mobile payments, in real time, to the in-store experience, as well as online and through apps. This would help to boost the smartphone based experience both over m-commerce as well as in brick and mortar shops in the United Kingdom. It was accomplished through the integration of its system into banking applications and by using the Faster Payments rail taps.

Zapp is currently on the cusp of solidifying mobile payments deals with as many as three large banks in the United Kingdom.

Those institutions would, in turn, invite their own customers to choose to take part in the service once it is officially rolled out in the second half of 2014.

The customers who opt into this mobile payments service would be able to pay for their products and services by using their banking app, bypassing the need to use the traditional card networks. This system, according to Zapp, is even more secure and convenient than other options that are currently available to consumers as they don’t need to provide the retailer or merchant with any of their card data. Instead, there is a token that lasts for only a few moments and has no intrinsic value, but that provides the authorization for the payment request. This is passed from the retailer to Zapp, and then onward to the bank of the customer.

Especially in the case of in-store purchases, Zapp explained that the lengthy log-in requirements that are currently used by some banks for their apps access could make the process unappealing for consumers. However, Zapp allows the same bank to be used while overcoming that issue through “adaptive authentication”, which reduces the barriers for smaller sized mobile payments.

Report shows consumers want mobile commerce platforms from their banks

A new report from the Future Foundation, a global research firm, suggests that consumers in the United Kingdom may be more willing to participate in mobile commerce if payment platforms came directly from their banks rather than from third party groups. Mobile commerce has been gaining prominence around the world, but many consumers remain wary of paying for products using their smartphones and tablets. These consumers often cite security concerns and worry that their financial information may be put at risk through their participation in mobile commerce.

Banks are growing more interested in mobile payments

Many banks and financial services firms have shown a great deal of interest in mobile commerce. These organizations typically embrace mobile payments and allow for consumers to use their accounts to make such transactions. Few of these banks offer their own mobile payment platforms, however, opting instead to support those being offered by third parties, such as Google and Isis. In the United Kingdom, this may be driving consumers away from mobile commerce.

Consumers may have more confidence in mobile commerce if banks get involved

The report shows that 57% of consumers would have more trust in mobile commerce applications coming from their own banks. The report also shows that approximately half of the country uses a mobile device to purchase products online. Consumers claim that they would spend more money in mobile commerce if they could trust their applications. Therefore, if banks begin supporting their own mobile commerce platforms, transactions made through mobile devices may see aggressive growth.

Strict regulations foster secure environment for mobile payments

One of the reasons that consumers would trust mobile commerce applications from their banks has to do with the regulations that exist to manage these banks. Financial services firms are saddled with a great deal of responsibility and must adhere to strict standards that are generally imposed by government organizations. These regulations put a major emphasis on security, which could foster confidence among consumers when it comes to mobile commerce.