ND1004115

Title: Mobile Payment to Simplify Customer Transactions

Description: Monday?s workshop at the NACS Show focused on how sophisticated mobile payment options are significant shifting how consumers pay for goods and services in convenience stores.

Page Content: CHICAGO ? Soon, paying for your purchases at stores could be as simple as tapping your smartphone to a processor. That was they key point underscored at the ?Mobile Payments: Which Technology Will Come out on Top?? workshop on Monday.

�

Mobile payment, or mobile wallet, uses near-field communication (NFC) to collect data from another device or NFC tag at close range. According to financial research and consulting company Aite Group, U.S. mobile payments will grow at high double-digit rates in the next few years, reaching $214 billion in payments by the end of 2015.

�

Two mobile wallet applications currently available include Google Wallet, which allows users to pay with a Citi MasterCard or a Google prepaid card, and Isis, which is a joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless chartered with building a nationwide mobile commerce network.

�

Consumers enjoy the convenience and potential savings that a mobile wallet offers, said Jim Stapleton, chief sales officer of Isis. ?Having the technology at the point of service is smooth and easy for the consumer, similar to the card swipe,? he explained. ?It?s a quick process; they?re not holding the line up.?

�

Not only will it make transactions simpler, a mobile wallet allows retailers to mobilize their loyalty program and offer mobile couponing, said Lisa Landsman, senior agency relations manager at Google. And although security is a concern among consumers, Stapleton said it actually is safer to use and lose your mobile wallet than your leather wallet.

�

Credit card numbers are not saved in the device memory, not viewable on the smartphone and not accessible by any downloadable apps. Also, the three-digit card verification code is perishable, which prevents trackers from stealing and reusing that number. If a consumer loses their phone, they need only call their carrier to cancel their service and mobile wallet, as opposed to calling every credit card provider individually.

�

?You have to think about it beyond payments,? Landsman said. ?It will increase basket size, drive traffic from the pump, increase loyalty and help you understand your consumers based on data. Plus, it will position you as a leader.?�

Content Subject: NACS Show, Technology

Formatted Article Date: October 4, 2011

zone article articles