Quixter has built a biometric pay-by-palm technology system that’s up and running at Lund University in Sweden. The idea is the brainchild of Fredrik Leifland, an engineering student at the university, who wanted to come up with a quicker system for making card payments. (And clearly didn’t think much of NFC.) Read More
George Costanza would love the Loop: it’s a tiny device that stores all of your credit card information, lets you pay at any terminal, and guarantees you’ll never live with the threat of your wallet exploding again. And you can buy it right now.
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A prepaid gift card may not be the proper substitute for a well-chosen present, but at least the beneficiary will have an easier time using it online this Christmas. That’s because PayPal now supports such cards, meaning they can be used at any online emporium signed on to its Checkout platform — and that’s quite a few, we’re told. PayPal says prepaid cards with no associated billing address sometimes create problems when that part of the payment form pops up, which its new service avoids (on PayPal-friendly sites, anyway). Maybe you can just persuade your Grandparents to send their gift via bank transfer and keep it digital in the first place. It’s the money thought that counts, after all.
Filed under: Internet
Via: TechCrunch
Source: PayPal
Over a year after rumors first surfaced, Google has finally unveiled the Google Wallet Card, a physical debit card that you can use to spend money from your Wallet account. The Mastercard-powered piece of plastic works just like a regular debit card and is available right now.
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We are, I believe, in an interstitial zone when it comes to payments. Credit cards are still king – just ask Square – and NFC is just a dream in most countries. That’s why Coin is so interesting. It’s a credit-card-sized device that holds other credit cards, allowing you to swap from card to card and even store gift cards inside its ultra-thin innards.
The company planned a pre-order campaign that would top out at $50,000. They blew past that goal in 40 minutes today, a testament to the desire for folks to leave their plastic at home.
The card itself is as thin as a regular credit card. To use the card you select a payment type with the button and just swipe. The Coin card “mimics” your read credit or gift card. The technology is tightly packed inside the card’s plastic case. It uses low-power Bluetooth to connect to your iOS device that is coupled with a standard credit-card reader. You swipe your cards into the system and you’re done. The device holds up to eight cards.
Engineer Kanishk Parashar is leading the Y-Combinator-backed company alongside investor and board member Manu Kumar. Parashar cut his teeth in payments with a startup called SmartMarket, but this product seems to be his winner.
The company isn’t new – a company called Flint is already in this space and I suspect a bigger player will probably beat Coin to the mass market. However, it’s a cool idea in a cool package and, clearly, the idea has caught fire.
You can take a look at the product here; it ships this summer.
Friend buy you a coffee when you had no cash? Now you can pay her back on the spot with Square’s new mobile payment system, Square Cash.
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Hey iPhone users, Google Wallet is here! The payments app has finally arrived for iOS devices, bringing with it transfers to friends, loyalty card tracking and nearby offers. Tap-to-pay is notably absent, as iOS devices don’t support NFC, but much of the other Wallet functionality does appear to have made its way to the App Store. As for security, you can keep things locked up using a PIN, and if you lose your phone or tablet, the app can be disabled remotely via Google’s site. Google Wallet for iOS, version 2.0.10206, is available today for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices running iOS 6.0 or better.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Google Wallet (App Store)
PayPal’s offered its Here service since last year to simplify buying items in brick-and-mortar shops, and today they’ve just unveiled their latest crack at in-person shopping: a USB stick dubbed Beacon. Business owners running a compatible Point of Sale system (Booker, Erply, Leaf, Leapset, Micros, NCR, PayPal Here, Revel, ShopKeep, TouchBistro and Vend as of now) just plug the dongle into a power source and they’ll be ready to offer hands-free payments. By using Bluetooth LE, the hardware detects when a customer wielding the PayPal app walks in, but won’t go so far as tracking their location within the establishment. A person’s photo will appear on the PoS setup when they mosey inside, and they’ll only have to give a verbal confirmation for payments to go through.
Naturally, waltzing into a store that can charge you so easily raises some concerns, but the outfit’s application will allow for levels of trust. Users will have control over what retail locations can register their presence, if they want to be prompted with on-screen alerts to confirm payments and which businesses can charge them automatically. The setup will be put through its paces in Q4, and is expected to roll it out early next year, but 100 lucky developers will get the dongle and accompanying API early. PayPal hopes Beacon and its API will lead to new checkout experiences, such as having your usual meal ordered as soon as you walk in. If you’re a dev or shop owner yearning to give the contraption a shot, click the link below for more.
Via: PayPal Forward
Source: PayPal
Last time we heard from Isis, the aspiring mobile payments collaboration between three US wireless carriers, its CEO Michael Abbott wasn’t willing to discuss the company’s future plans in specific terms. Three months appear to make all the difference, however: Isis is almost ready to expand beyond its trial runs in Salt Lake City and Austin, and the service will be rolling out from coast to coast later this year. The company isn’t giving any more specific details regarding timing or new Isis-compatible devices (there are currently 35 of them spread across Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile), although it’s planning to enable the service on BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices later this year as well. The press release will serve up all the details after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile
You just finished a delicious meal. You’re itching to move on to the next spot to get more drinks. Or you’re hoping to wrap up your meal so you can pay the sitter. Or maybe you just want to get the hell out of the restaurant just because. Whatever it is, you spend a snail’s lifetime trying to flag down the waitress to get your bill. Another half life waiting for her to take your credit card. And a century and half for you to get it back so you can sign the damn thing. Taking care of the bill is the most annoying thing about eating out. OpenTable wants to change that.
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