Web application performance monitoring company New Relic has published an interesting infographic on payment gateway performance. New Relic pulled the data from all their customers that called an external payment gateway during the 20th of April 2012. The data derived from more than 100,000 total gateway calls. In New Relic’s sample PayPal was the most popular provider, accounting for nearly 60% of all transactions followed by Authorize.Net, USA ePay and Stripe. Google Checkout came in 5th but turned out to being the fastest gateway. Enjoy!
Mobile Payment, Cards: AmEx Launches Local Foursquare Deals in the UK
Location-based social network Foursquare and American Express team up to bring local offers and rewards to the United Kingdom. After linking their AmEx credit card to their Foursquare account UK customers can check in at a participating location to receive offers. The offers are redeemed automatically when the user pays with the linked card. The service looks impressive – hopefully it will be available in more countries soon. Read more…
Mobile Payment: Groupon Acquires Mobile POS Company Breadcrumb, Makes Redeeming Coupons Easier
Groupon has acquired Breadcrumb, a startup that that has created a mobile point-of-sale solution for iOS devices. The direct integration into POS terminals is a big improvement and makes it easier to redeem Groupon offers. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Read more…
Research Findings: More Than $172B in Mobile Payments in 2012
According to Gartner’s report: Forecast: Mobile Payment, Worldwide, 2009-2016 the worldwide mobile payment transaction value will reach $171.5 billion in 2012. This is a 62% increase from the 2011 volume of $105.9 billion. The research company forecasts a mobile payment market worth $617 billion by 2016. The growth is mostly fueled by SMS and mobile internet transactions while NFC-based payments won’t see mass market adoption before 2015. Read more…
Mobile point of sale solutions that allow retail merchants to accept card payments with a smartphone or tablet continue to be a hot topic. Mobile POS services make accepting card payments easier and cheaper, a big advantage especially for small and medium sized companies. See our The Fight for the Mobile Point of Sale article where we provided an introduction to the existing mobile POS services.
So far Jack Dorsey’s Square is the leader when it comes to mobile POS transaction in the U.S. But the competition is heating up. Now even big payment companies start similar services while startups launch Square-like mobile payment products all around the world.
Big payment companies take on the mobile POS market
VeriFone SAIL mobile card reader
VeriFone, one of the largest POS terminal makers, starts its own mobile POS service for small merchants called SAIL. It supports integration with traditional VeriFone point-of-sale hardware, making it possible to also accept NFC-based payments. VeriFone charges a 2.7% for swiped transaction (1.95% with a $9.95/m Pro plan).
Mobile POS outside of the United States
Unfortunately Square is only available to customers in the United States so far. Sweden-based iZettle proved that the concept can be very successful implemented in Europe and over the last weeks some interesting services launched outside the U.S.:
Payment processor Sage Pay has started beta testing of Sage Pay Mobile in the UK. Sage Pay Mobile uses a small terminal that connectes via Bluetooth with the merchants smartphone to process card based payments.
Another UK-based mobile payment service is Mpowa. The Square-like service will launch soon in the UK and then expand to other parts of Europe and North America.
Streetpay by Masterpayment will be the first mobile POS service to launch in Germany. The Payment service provider plans to start the service in mid-June this year.
It is rumored that Berlin incubator Rocket Internet will start a mobile POS service soon. The name of the project already changed from ZenPay to EvoPay and now payleven. Although the service hasn’t been launched yet merchants in Germany can already sign up to get notified when the product is released. According to their German website payleven has no monthly fees and will include a free card reader. Further details remain unclear.
Micro Payment: Zynga and AmEx Introduce Online Virtual Rewards Program
American Express and Zynga join forces and launch an interesting online virtual rewards program: Zynga Serve Rewards. Players of Zynga’s social game FarmVille can earn rewards when using a co-branded American Express prepaid card. The service is based on AmEx’s online payment platform Serve. The digital wallet service was launched in March and integrates various payment methods into one online account. Similar reward programs will be introduced in additional games over the course of the year. Read more…
Micro Payment: Google adds In-app Subscriptions to Android
One year after starting in-app billing on Google Play, the official Android app marketplace, Google now supports in-app subscriptions. As of now, developers can start to sell monthly or annual subscriptions from inside of their apps. Google manages the transactions; developers only have to set the price point and billing interval. Read more…
In-app Billing on Google Play
Alternative Payment: PayPal Continues to Expand into the Retail World
PayPal is trying to become a major player for in-store payments. A new agreement with VeriFone and Equinox Payments, both are large point-of-sale terminal providers, enables more customers to pay with PayPal at retail stores across the U.S. The company is also partnering with 15 U.S. retailers that are going to implement PayPal’s retail payment solution. Read more…
Mobile Payment: Unwire Launches Mobile Ticketing App
Scandinavian software company Unwire has released a mobile ticketing app for iOS and Android devices. The app lets customers buy tickets for the metro, bus or train in the city area of Copenhagen (Denmark) via their smartphone or tablet. The ticket price is automatically deducted from the credit card that is registered with the app. Read more…
Intuit Survey: Small Businesses not Accepting Cards Miss $100B in Annual Sales
According to a survey by financial services company Intuit, 55% of the 27 million small businesses in the U.S. do not accept credit cards. Intuit estimates that each of these business misses approximately $7,000 in sales annually, adding up to more than $100 billion in lost revenue. Read more…
Online Payment: MyBank Pilot to Start in June 2012
EBA CLEARING, the operator of the pan-European clearing and settlement service STEP2 SEPA, has announced to launch a trial of its MyBank service in June 2012. MyBank is an online banking-based payment method to pay for purchases made on the Internet. The service allows customers to pay for online purchases via their online banking environment. MyBank looks much like a pan-European version of national online banking based services such as iDEAL in the Netherlands or Giropay in Germany. Read more…
Dwolla is an online payment platform that allows users to send and receive funds directly from other users. The startup was founded in 2008 in Des Moines, the capital of the U.S. state of Iowa, by Ben Milne and Shane Neuerberg with the idea to move funds cheap and directly between users. In June 2011 Dwolla passed the $1 million in transactions per week milestone and is now processing more than $1 million per day. The company raised a $5 million Series B round of financing led by Union Square Ventures in February this year and most recently won Ashton Kutcher as investor.
The name Dwolla is a conjunction of “Dollar” and “web”; a good description of what Dwolla is: an online, cash-based payment method.
How does it work?
Dwolla is not a bank or credit card processor. The company provides a digital wallet and payment network much like PayPal. Transactions are made directly and instantaneous between Dwolla accounts, without using the credit card or ACH (=Automated Clearing House, the electronic network for financial transactions in the U.S.) infrastructure. Dwolla is partnering with U.S. bank Veridian Credit Union to securely deposit the funds of their users.
To use the service, customers have to sign up for a free Dwolla account that can be linked with a U.S. bank account for money deposits and withdrawals (takes 2-4 business days). Once the funds are transferred to their Dwolla account, users can send money to other Dwolla users or their social media contacts (non-Dwolla users have to sign up to claim the money).
Fees
Unlike credit cards and PayPal, which usually charge 3%-5% for each transaction, Dwolla charges a flat fee of just $0.25. Micro-transactions less than $10 are free. By default the recipient is responsible for paying the fee, but there is also the option that the sender takes over the fee (e.g. for charity donations). There are no additional fees, even for merchant accounts.
Merchant Features
Business can sign up for a merchant account to accept payments through the Dwolla network based on their Dwolla ID or email address. Dwolla provides innovative solutions for retail merchants as well as for online shops. Users can locate nearby retail stores that accept Dwolla via Dwolla Spots or Proxi. To verify the incoming transactions Dwolla provides a web-based Dwolla Kiosk App. Check out the embedded video to see how Dwolla Spots work:
For online merchants Dwolla offers plugins for all main e-commerce shopping platforms and an API to their payment gateway.
The downside is that Dwolla is only available within the U.S. The company is focusing on national expansion and has currently no plans to expand internationally.
Mobile Banking: Barclays Introduces Pingit for Corporates
Banking giant Barclays has introduced its mobile payment service Pingit to corporate clients. Using Pingit, business can now provide an alternative payment method to their customers. Users can now pay bills directly from the Pingit app. Barclays Pingit started as a mobile person-to-person (p2p) payment service in February in the UK. It allows users to receive and send money using their mobile phones: The user’s current account (available to all customers of UK banks) is linked with their mobile phone number, enabling payments to be sent directly to that account via the Faster Payments Scheme. The Pingit app launched in February and is available for Android, BlackBerry and iOS devices. Read more…
Mobile Payment: PCI Security Standards Council Provides Mobile Payment Acceptance Security Guidelines
Mobile POS solutions that enable merchants to accept card payments using a mobile device are getting more and more popular. Now the PCI Security Standards Council (mostly known for providing the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)) has published a guideline for merchants how to accept mobile payments with a smartphone or tablet. The fact sheet: At a Glance: Mobile Payment Acceptance Security recommends merchants to with a Point-to-Point Encryption service provider to securely accept payments and meet their PCI DSS compliance obligations.
Mobile Payment: MasterCard and C-SAM to Offer Mobile Wallet Solution in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa
MasterCard and C-SAM, a mobile payments technology provider, are joining forces to offer a white label mobile wallet solution to mobile operators, banks and payment providers in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Read more…
Intuit, a California-based company specialized in financial software and related services has put together a nice Infographic on mobile payment trends and the future of mobile shopping. Enjoy!
Mobile Payment: iZettle Launches Mobile Card Reader in the UK
One year after the launch in Sweden, iZettle is preparing to launch in the UK. Stockholm-based iZettle provides a mobile payment service that allows businesses to accept card payments with their smartphone or tablet. The EMV-approved card reader, which is attached to the bottom of the device, allows users to take payments from chip-enabled credit or debit cards. During the trial phase iZettle will test its service with 3,000 individuals and small businesses in the UK. The commercial launch of iZettle in the UK is scheduled for later this year. Read more
Mobile Payment: MasterCard partners with Ogone to Bring PayPass Wallet to Europe
MasterCard has selected Ogone to become the first European payment services provider to offer PayPass Wallet. With PayPass Wallet consumers can store their payment details in a digital wallet and use it to make purchases online and in stores. The service is not limited to MasterCard branded cards, so consumers can use other credit, debit and prepaid cards. As a result of the partnership, online merchants that are using Ogone will be able to provide their customers the option to pay with PayPass Wallet. Read more
PayPal is Pushing Into Physical Stores: More Retailers to Adopt PayPal In-Store Payments
According to All Things D, PayPal will unveil new retailers that are going to accept PayPal as payment method next week. PayPal is very successful in online payments and is now moving into the retail market as well. So far PayPal Store Checkout is available at more than 2,000 Home Depot stores across the United States. With PayPal Store Checkout customers can pay with their mobile phone number and PIN or by swiping a PayPal card and entering the PIN. The purchases are linked directly to the customer’s PayPal account. Read more
Mobile Payment: Launch of the Smart Card Alliance Mobile and NFC Council
With the increasing number of NFC-enabled smartphones and new NFC applications the Smart Card Alliance will now focus more on contactless and mobile technology. The Smart Card Alliance announces the formation of the Mobile and NFC Council to provide a platform for bringing together the NFC technologies and the industry. The Smart Card Alliance is a multi-industry association working to advance use and adoption of smart card (a card with an embedded microchip) technology. Read more about the Mobile and NFC Council
Alternative Payment: GameStop will sell Steam Wallet cards in U.S. stores
Video game retailer GameStop is partnering with its digital rival Valve to sell Steam Wallet cards in all U.S. GamesStop locations. Valve’s Steam is an online platform for the delivery and management of PC games. The Steam Wallet cards enable customers that don’t have access to credit cards (or don’t want to use them for online purchases) to purchase games online via the Steam platform. Source
Cards: Ingenico brings EMV and NFC-enabled POS terminals to the U.S.
Ingenico, a provider of payment solutions and devices, partners with distributor POS Portal to bring the latest NFC and EMV-ready Telium series point-of-sale POS devices into the United States. Joe Villamil, VP of Business Development at POS Portal commented: “The migration to EMV presents complex challenges for our customers. We are confident that Ingenico and its new Telium range of POS products will be a perfect fit for our company.” More…
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