Tag: tablet payments

Mobile payments tablet POS debuted by Groupon after false start

| May 19, 2013

Groupon - Mobile payments are a goThe daily deal provider accidentally released its application early, but it is now available for iPads.

Although the element of surprise was no longer available following the false start of the mobile payments tablet POS app from Groupon at the Apple App Store, the application has now been officially released for use by businesses.

The company had previously released the app for download, only to take it back down again hours later.

Following the premature launch, the Groupon mobile payments app was added to the App Store for iPad once more. This application is a new version of its Breadcrumb POS solution. The company is hoping that it will help to broaden its footprint from being relatively limited to bars and restaurants, into all forms of brick and mortar company, instead.

This iPad mobile payments app launch has the potential to replace traditional cash registers.

According to the statement released by the Groupon vice president of merchant OS, Mihir Shah, “With this launch we can help every local business replace their outdated cash registers with a modern, affordable, money-saving tool that allows them to save on credit card transaction fees and run their businesses better.”

Beyond the Breadcrumb POS mobile payments launch, Groupon has also announced that it is rebranding its original point of sale solution – that is, the one that was geared toward restaurants and bars – as its Breadcrumb Pro solution. Both of the available solutions come with the Breadcrumb Payments feature, which allow for quick and easy credit and debit transactions for restaurants and retailers, alike.

Beyond mobile payments credit and debit transaction acceptance, the solution also provides a number of additional features, such as live support, next day deposits, and analytics. However, what many in the industry think will be the primary selling point of the service to businesses will be the guarantee of the lowest rates.

At the moment, Groupon’s mobile payments POS solution comes with a 1.8 percent, plus 15 cents per transaction, fee. Moreover, it also includes free processing for the first $5,000 that the merchant brings in through transactions in its Breadcrumb POS system.

Mobile payments adoption requires incentives

| May 13, 2013

mobile payments consumer incentiveRecent research is showing that if this technology is going to take off, customers need a reason to use it.

Although there is definite growth occurring in the world of mobile payments, there is still a massive amount of potential that is being left unused and a recent study is suggesting that part of the solution to this issue is in offering incentives to consumers.

Regardless of whether wallets, NFC technology, QR codes or other methods are used, consumers need a reason.

The struggle is primarily based on the fact that consumers are currently quite happy with the method and convenience of their cash, credit and debit cards. Therefore, there is not a significant amount of motivation for them to learn how to use mobile payments through their smartphones when they already feel that they have everything that they need.

At the moment, mobile payments have yet to answer the consumer’s question “what’s in it for me?”

The research in a survey of 4,000 people in the United States and Canada has indicated that consumers aren’t necessarily waiting for mobile payments to become more broadly available. Instead, they want to know why using the technology would be of any value to them in the first place. They are concerned about issues such as security, privacy, and convenience – areas where they already feel relatively comfortable when completing transactions at the register.

The survey was conducted by Accenture in order to gain a better understanding of what would motivate Canadian and American consumers to start to use mobile payments as a larger part of their daily lives. What they determined was that making the infrastructure available wasn’t nearly enough. Consumers need to be shown how they can benefit by using their smartphones instead of cash, credit, and debit.

These mobile commerce incentives can be as straightforward ad discounts, rewards, or other value added strategies. The survey has indicated that these incentives will be enough motivation to turn many consumers toward using their smartphones instead of their traditional transaction methods.

Mobile payments services and retailers that understand this fact may be able to implement campaigns and strategies that will appeal to the consumer’s preferences and provide them with benefits that will encourage them to try the technology for the first time, and then become comfortable with using it more regularly, said the study.