Paytouch lets your fingerprints make purchases, hopes to expand into Europe and America next year

Paytouch lets your fingerprints make purchases, hopes to expand into Europe and America next year

The business of commerce is alive and well, and while there's far too much noise for anyone to stand on the mobile side, Paytouch is hoping to add a new wrinkle on the conventional end. The Barcelona-based outfit was on hand here at The Next Web Conference, showcasing its biometric payment terminal and setting the stage for what's to come. For those unfamiliar, the Paytouch terminal is currently being used at Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel -- users with a Paytouch account simply link their credit card to their fingerprints, and a two-finger press is all it takes to order another glass of sangria. The benefits are fairly obvious for all parties involved. For the consumer, there's no longer a need to carry a credit card that can be skimmed, lost or stolen; for the retailer, it's able to encourage impulse buying in an entirely new way; for Paytouch, there's a commission paid on each purchase.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: Paytouch

China UnionPay and Intel join forces for secure mobile payment

UnionPay and Intel join forces for secure mobile payment

At IDF's second-day keynote in Beijing today, Intel announced its collaboration with bank card giant China UnionPay for secure mobile payment, with the latter utilizing Intel's Identity Protection Technology and also its distribution of the Hadoop software framework for datacenters. With UnionPay being China's top bank card organization boasting a total of 3.5 billion cards to date, this is obviously a big deal for Intel both locally and around the world -- at least in the 141 countries and regions where UnionPay is accepted, according to Executive Vice President Chai Hongfeng.

Chai also used his stage time to show off UnionPay Quick Pass, China's very own NFC payment service with over 1.1 million local POS terminals as of December 2012. The exec used none other than Intel's developer device to buy its Corporate Vice President Doug Fisher a can of "Mountain Doug" (we would've preferred "Chai Tea" instead), but of course, HTC beat Intel to it with the joint launch of mobile Quick Pass back in August 2011. Anyhow, there's a press release after the break.

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

Visa and Samsung ink worldwide NFC deal, practically guarantees payWave on your Galaxy S IV

Visa and Samsung ink worldwide NFC deal here comes the payWave bloatware

First, the good news. It appears that Visa and Samsung's Olympics trial went over so well, that it's expanding those mobile payment dreams to a global audience. Now, the rough news -- Visa has convinced Samsung to pre-load the payWave app onto every future Samsung smartphone with an NFC module. Granted, you'd be using that anyway for contactless payments... but only if you had a Visa card. At this point, it's practically a given that the impending Galaxy S IV will boast not only an NFC chip, but payWave integration from the factory.

The deal also gives banks the ability to load payment account information over-the-air to a secure chip embedded in Samsung devices (thanks, Mobile Provisioning Service), but neither company is coming clean on what devices in particular will be taking advantage. Unfortunately, this news may be even gloomier for non-Visa users -- it's unlikely Samsung's contract will allow it to announce similar deals with competing mobile payment services, but we suppose we'll see in time.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Visa

Verizon offers another way to pick up a Square reader, make your eventual fortune

Not that there's been a lack of ways to pickup a Square credit card reader, but if you happen to find yourself in a Verizon Wireless store with a few extra bucks and the burning desire to open your own boutique business (and you're not craving coffee or a MacBook), you're in luck. As of today, VZW stores will be offering up the commerce device nationally for $9.97 a pop -- a price that comes with a $10 Square credit. Ka-ching. With $10 billion a year in payments at last count, that pricing structure seems to be working out for the company after all.

Filed under: ,

Comments

VeriFone retreats from mobile payments, says acquiring users ‘fundamentally unprofitable’

VeriFone retreats from mobile payments, says acquiring users 'fundamentally unprofitable'

After joining the mobile payment bandwagon last spring with Sail, VeriFone is ready to scale back its efforts in the venture. "Our experience through 2012 with tens of thousands of these micro-merchants tells us that the standalone economics of micro-merchant acquiring are fundamentally unprofitable," the firm's CEO, Doug Bergeron, said in a quarterly conference call. According to the head honcho, the cost of wrangling up new business users through ads and the like "will never justify the razor thin-margins produced by merchants with infrequent volumes and extremely high attrition." As a result of those costs and the risks of fraud associated with payments, the outfit will be handing off the user recruitment side of Sail to banks and "merchant acquirers," and plans to sell some of the platform's related assets. Despite the company's retreat from mobile payments, Bergeron considers the only way others could survive in the space is to provide merchants with auxiliary services, such as digital wallets, which competitors such as Square have begun to dabble in. VeriFone may have soured on mobile payments, but it's highly likely we'll see others give it the old college try as well.

Filed under:

Comments

Via: Reuters

Source: Verifone Q4 2012 Earnings Call Transcript (PDF)

Square reaches $10 billion in payments per year, stays ahead of a growing pack

Square reaches $10 billion in payments per year, stays ahead of a growing pack

It was just this spring that Square had reached a grandiose $5 billion per year payment rate and cemented its position at the top of the mobile payment processing field it practically started. Any attempts to catch up just got a lot harder now that the startup has crossed the $10 billion mark, only half a year later. A fifth of that new rate came in the past two months and hints that the company isn't about to slow down anytime soon. The increase doesn't have any clear driver, apart from wider media exposure, but founder Jack Dorsey notes that this doesn't include the Starbucks deal that took effect just days ago. We know the rocket-like pace won't last forever; all the same, the record-high levels of business undoubtedly give Square a lot of competitive padding when a deluge of recently established alternatives are still getting started.

Filed under: ,

Square reaches $10 billion in payments per year, stays ahead of a growing pack originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 19:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceSquare (Twitter), Jack Dorsey (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

Square launches in Canada, streamlines payments on the world stage

Square launches in Canada, streamlines onthespot poutine payments

For all of Square's fast growth, it's been exclusively the domain of US shopkeeps; others had to scrounge for an alternative, if there was one at all. The payment pioneer clearly isn't content to isolate itself or anyone else, as it's making its international debut with support for Canada. Locals can immediately request the free Mobile Card Reader and swipe credit cards with an Android or iOS device at the same flat, 2.75 percent rate that more experimental American stores know very well. Complete equality isn't available to Canucks just yet, as Square Wallet won't be available until 2013, but the access remains a step forward for Canadian merchants that don't want to be tied down to a terminal any more than their southern neighbors.

Continue reading Square launches in Canada, streamlines payments on the world stage

Square launches in Canada, streamlines payments on the world stage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceSquare  | Email this | Comments

Samsung Galaxy S III is the first MetroPCS handset to support Google Wallet

DNP Samsung Galaxy S III is MetroPCS' first handset to support Google Wallet

While the US wireless industry seems far away from finding a universal mobile payment system, T-Mobile's new BFF MetroPCS appears to have made its choice. Taking to its official Facebook page, the carrier announced on Monday that the Samsung Galaxy S III is its first handset to support Google Wallet. In choosing Google's mobile payment platform, MetroPCS joins two of its biggest competitors, Sprint and US Cellular. It should be noted that T-Mobile is deeply committed to Google's wireless payment competitor Isis, which recently became ready for public consumption. Once the two carriers exchange nuptials next year, it's possible that we could be looking at the wireless industry's first mobile payment Brady Bunch. However, looking back at T-Mobile's previous attempts at mobile matrimony, we won't be holding our breath waiting for this union to become official.

Filed under: , ,

Samsung Galaxy S III is the first MetroPCS handset to support Google Wallet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMetroPCS (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

Isis’ NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video)

Isis' NFC mobile payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City 3 carriers, 9 devices, 1 long way to go

To say that the launch of Isis has felt drawn out would be a mild understatement. The alliance first signaled its intentions two years ago, detailed its first markets one year ago and faced a last-minute delay. All the ducks are finally in a row, however, and residents of both Austin as well as Salt Lake City can tap to pay (or score discounts) at the "hundreds" of locations that accept NFC-based purchases through American Express, Capital One, Chase and Isis' own cash card. Launch day brings app- and SIM-enabled access for nine devices spread rather unevenly across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon: only the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is confirmed working for Verizon subscribers, while the rest are divided more equally between multiple Samsung Galaxies and HTC devices like the Amaze 4G and One X. Over 20 phones should be Isis-aware before the end of the year. It's a potentially strong start to one of the few truly cross-network mobile payment systems in the US, but we see a long road ahead before Isis gives Google Wallet some jitters -- there's legions of banks, cities and stores needed before Isis is widespread, and we're not counting on that ever-elusive universal hardware support.

Continue reading Isis' NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video)

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Isis' NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon  | Email this | Comments

PayPal Here goes on sale at AT&T stores: like a one-stop shop for account hiccups

PayPal Here goes on sale at AT&T stores like a onestop shop for account hiccups

PayPal Here, despite all its focus on in-store transactions, hasn't really been available to buy in a US store -- that's been the domain of the seemingly ubiquitous Square reader. eBay's payment wing has at last established that retail beachhead through a deal with AT&T. About 1,800 of the carrier's stores are now carrying PayPal Here readers, and they'll keep the service's big rival from hogging the spotlight at a time when most aren't even aware that there's any competition. If you're still cynical, you can look at the AT&T move as a matter of convenience: at least this way, all your account headaches will come from one place.

Filed under: ,

PayPal Here goes on sale at AT&T stores: like a one-stop shop for account hiccups originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourcePayPal Blog  | Email this | Comments