New innovations in electronic wallets
January 18, 2012
If the predictions from credit card issuers, retailers and other payments experts serve as any indication, mobile wallets that tie debit and credit accounts to users' smartphones will achieve widespread adoption in the course of the next year.
There are plenty of innovations related to this payment method, as several companies have recently added their own products to the list of offerings. Shopping and bill-payment app developer Billeo recently announced that it had created a solution that enables card issuers to add their cards to the Active Context platform, connecting them to more than 1.5 million users of Billeo's applications.
This option could also be useful for corporation's billing departments, which may have to wait much longer to process paper-based invoices than they would with an electronic bill and payment system.
"People want shopping and paying bills online to be smooth and simple - we're giving issuers an opportunity to make using their card the easiest choice," said Murali Subbarao, CEO of Billeo, Inc. "Use and retention are two of the biggest concerns for card issuers - especially those in the prepaid market. Our platform puts an issuer's card top-of-mind for online shoppers, consumers shopping from their iPads and people paying bills online."
Merchants have another option when it comes to accepting mobile payments. Ingenico recently announced that it has teamed up with iMobile3 to create a new mobile retail platform that will facilitate more secure, multi-channel commerce transactions.
The companies said their solution would allow merchants to interact with customers on an individual basis, as well as improve the consumer experience and boost conversion rates. Additionally, retailers will be able to accept mobile payments in the aisles of their stores or when selling products on-site, and will be able to offer their customers a wider variety of payment options - contactless, EMV chip, NFC or magnetic stripe.
In the announcement, Ingenico North America president Thierry Denis commented that the addition would give consumers and merchants another choice in how they pay and accept payment for products, adding that it could have a positive impact on profits, revenue and customer loyalty. With more consumers carrying mobile devices and using them to complete daily tasks, offering smartphone-based payment methods could a the deciding factor in a merchant's success.
