Mobile Payment Requirements

As ISIS stumbles to find its way in terms of bringing NFC chips to market and how it can derive revenues in the mobile payment space, as Google has an uphill battle installing NFC chips in phones and in getting merchants to adopt NFC point of sale terminals. A number of alternatives for in store payments have come to market or are being tested. They include:

• PayPal’s X.Commerce solution where a customer can pay in the store with a PayPal account.

• Square’s “say your name” to complete your purchase on an iPhone.

• Mobeam’s (www.mobeam.com) light based communication (LBC) which allows barcode readers to read many coupon stored on the phone. This is currently being proposed for coupon reading, but could be used for mobile payments.

• Modivmedia's (www.modivmedia.com) easy pass payment solution used in Stop & Shop stores.

NFC has lots of competition. The ability to pay with a mobile device is a nice to have and not a need to have. If it were a need to have Mastercard’s PayPass would be used by more people. It is not the payment solution that makes or breaks payments on a mobile phone. It is the mobile phone shopping solution that brings increased value to the merchants and the shopper.

A successful mobile payment solution will be one that allows shoppers:

• To feel secure using
• To get through the stores aisles and purchasing line more quickly
• To get discounts on desired items
• To easily use

A successful mobile payment solution will be one that allows merchants:

• To gain an uplift in brick and mortar sales
• To bring more customers into the store
• The ability to let customers shop as they want (Online,in store or both)
• To create a better customer experience and brand affinity
• To save on labor costs
• To reduce fraud
• To maintain control of purchasing and customer information
• To gain analytics on Internet and in store purchasing

There are many players who have entered the mobile payments ecosystem. All have some of the categories listed in the requirements for a successful mobile payments solution. As mobile payment solutions try to jockey for merchants’ and shoppers’ hearts, minds and wallets it is important to provide a solution that fulfills these requirements. Because at the end of the day, most customers have a credit card, debit card or cash they can use to make a purchase.