Nov 14
Isis, the NFC-powered mobile payment app
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Sep 17
Android users, this is where you unashamedly stick your tongue out at iOS loyalists while making childish noises with your lips. (In your fantasies, at least — that’s pretty rude to do in real life.) The Google Wallet app for Android has just been revised, with users in the United States told to expect it in phases throughout the week. One of the biggest additions is the ability to send cash on the go to any adult in the US with an email address — as is the case in Gmail, sending money directly from one’s bank or one’s Wallet account is free, while the usual fees apply if you’re dinging that credit card. Plus, if you’re still waiting for the option to send money in Gmail, just using this app once will automatically enable that.
Moreover, the app is doing its darndest to replace Key Ring, allowing individuals to load loyalty cards of all types directly into the app. In theory, this should cut down on how much plastic you have to carry around, but we’ve still seen stores that have a heck of a time scanning a digital rewards card. If you’re into saving money, Wallet now holds offers from Maps, Google Search, Google+ and Google Offers, and we get the impression that the company will be allying with a number of merchants in the near future in order to make this particular tidbit more attractive. Head on over to the Google Play Store to see if the new build is showing up for you.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Google Commerce, Google Play Store
Sep 09
PayPal has launched Beacon, a new mobile payment dongle using Bluetooth LE for hands-free transactions, and with installation as easy as plugging in a wall-wart. PayPal Beacon hooks up via Bluetooth Low Energy to the PayPal app on their smartphone, automatically letting them check-in – with a quick vibration to show that it’s happened – […]
Jul 30
Isis Mobile Wallet brings NFC to the payment counter, will roll out nationwide
Posted in: Today's ChiliIsis, the joint venture between T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, allows for NFC-based tap-to-pay (and redeem) transactions at the counter. The service was initially rolled out in two locations: Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas. Both initial locations were stamped as successful, and now plans have been announced to roll out the service nationwide sometime
May 23
Mobile payments provider Square has reached its third market, going live in Japan today. The launch – in partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation – marks Square’s first spread outside of North America, where it has been operating in the US and Canada from 2010. As there, the Japanese service will accept swiped payments via the Square Reader, a dongle that plugs into the headphone jack of an iOS or Android device.
With that in place, and the Square app installed, anybody can take a payment from a credit card. Square charges a 3.25-percent transaction fee in Japan, and is promising next-day deposits for “participating banks” and deposits within a week for other banks.
Meanwhile, Square will soon offer Square Wallet functionality in Japan, which will allow for direct payments between accounts, rather than requiring a credit card or cash. Square will also offer businesses the option of using a traditional cash drawer and receipt printer, though the app can send an email receipt by default.
Mobile payments are a growing business, and Japan has been ahead of the curve for some time with cashless options. Cellphones in the country have long been able to use mobile wallet systems, with subscribers able to charge travel, goods, and services to their monthly bill.
Square does not currently offer a Chip & PIN option – where credit or debit cards have an embedded microchip, similar in appearance to a phone SIM card, and the customer must punch in their PIN code to authorize the payment – which is in use in Japan, with the old-fashioned “swipe and sign” process used instead. The company is also working on a system for small payments between friends and family, with Square Cash going into closed beta recently.
Square mobile payments go live in Japan is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 25
Paytouch lets your fingerprints make purchases, hopes to expand into Europe and America next year
Posted in: Today's Chili 
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: Software
Source: Paytouch
Jan 31
Verizon offers another way to pick up a Square reader, make your eventual fortune
Posted in: Today's Chili 
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.
Jan 03
You can already pay with Square when you buy a Pumpkin Spice Latte™. Great. And now you can buy a Square card reader with your Starbucks order. What? More »
Oct 24
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.
Oct 22
Samsung Galaxy S III is the first MetroPCS handset to support Google Wallet
Posted in: Today's Chili 
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: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
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.
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