Tag: smartphone payments

QR codes to be debuted in mobile payments program

| April 12, 2013

QR codes - Taiwan mobile paymentsChungwa, a carrier from Taiwan, will be launching its service in the summer of 2013.

The latest technology news from Taiwan is that Chungwa Telecom Co., the largest mobile network operator in the country, will be launching a mobile payments program that will use QR codes to allow the transactions to be completed.

This could make a considerable difference in the adoption rate of mobile payments in Taiwan.

In order to use the program, consumers would use their smartphones to scan QR codes so that they can make payments to complete purchases of goods and services while in stores. This, according to a report that was released by the company, itself, announcing the upcoming mobile friendly service.

Pending regulatory approval from the QR codes could start to be used as early as June.

As of the launch of the QR codes based mobile payments service, the program is slated to become available to consumers as of June 2013. The report did not announce how many partner merchants have signed up to take part in the program, so far.

Chungwa is a company that is a part of a consortium that is made up of the biggest mobile carriers in Taiwan. This group has also been looking beyond QR codes and is investigating mobile wallet products that would use NFC technology. They believe that this could help to make mobile payments more appealing to individuals who are carrying enabled devices.

That initiative was launched earlier in 2013, but would not be ready until well after the service using the QR codes has already been implemented. Chungwa had actually launched a trial of an NFC technology based mobile payments service, last year, but the most recent report issued by the company didn’t mention whether that is for a program that would take over for the barcodes, or whether it would run the two types of payment services in tandem with one another.

At the moment, it will be the service using the QR codes that will first become available. Whether it will be temporary to draw attention to this type of smartphone-based payments or whether it will continue to run even if NFC technology is implemented, only time will tell.

NFC technology added to a mobile payments solution from Sweden

| April 11, 2013

NFC Technology SwedenThe SEQR service will be using near field communication tech according to the company’s announcement.

An SEQR mobile payments service company based in Stockholm, Seamless, has just announced that its product will now include the use of NFC technology for more transaction options.

The latest predictions from the company say that it will be implementing the contactless tech any day now.

The company has said that the solution is ready and that consumers should expect to start seeing the NFC technology in stores any time now. At the moment, it uses SEQR, which is a method that applies QR codes that are affixed to the terminals at the point of sale in a store. This allows smartphone users to scan the barcodes in order to be able to complete a purchase transaction.

As with the former version of the service, the company’s app is required to use the NFC technology.

In order to make payments using the NFC technology, smartphone users must have an enabled device in which they have downloaded the Seamless app. From there, they can choose to either scan the QR code or they can tap the device to the NFC stickers, which will produce the same results. This action automatically uses funds from the user’s account to pay for the purchase.

Though the QR codes should still be available, the new solution will allow NFC technology stickers to be used instead by devices that are capable of using them. According to the president and CEO of Seamless, Peter Fredell, “This will make us a completely technology-independent option for retailers and users.”

Fredell also pointed out that “It still costs the retailer nothing to introduce SEQR, and no expensive hardware or complicated installation is needed. With the Seamless NFC solution, we have also solved the big security problems that were previously associated with NFC technology.”

The company has stated that its new mobile payments solution has allowed it to become the leading smartphone transaction service in Sweden. It has already been adopted by McDonald’s restaurants as well as by the grocery retailer, Axfood group, which has allowed it to become widespread throughout Sweden. Now, it will be bringing NFC technology to each of these locations, as well.