35 mobile payments insights you can steal

35 mobile payment insights you can steal!

What’s happening in the explosive world of m-commerce? Here are some clues – and it’ll take you less than half an hour to read them…!

Introduction!Many people believe mobile payment is going to be MASSIVE. !!You probably do. Or you wouldn’t be reading this.!!That leaves two big questions:!!•  What form will mobile payment take? !•  When will it become mainstream?!!I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But I do have some ideas because I’ve been studying the market as founder and editor of Mobile Money Revolution.!

So this document contains my observations about the sector – and lots of links to the products, services and studies that back them up.!!Hope you find it useful.!!If you do, you could hire me to write for you or speak to your organisation.!!Enjoy…!!Tim Green, founder and editor, Mobile Money Revolution!!www.mobilemoneyrevolution.co.uk!@timgreen64, @[email protected] !

1. Let’s be honest. True M-payment is not here yet (in the West)!

Well, this is a negative one to start.!!You may wonder what I’m on about, especially when analysts like Gartner say that global mobile payments will be worth $235.4 billion this year.!!But most of this comes from money transfers in emerging markets. And from mobile online commerce, which will account for 21 per cent.!!Well, is the latter really mobile? Or is it just e-commerce on a small screen?!!Genuinely mobile payment is still embryonic is mature markets. Guess how much of US market retail payments came from a mobile wallet in 2012?!!0.01 per cent.!!!!!

! ! ! !Contact author Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

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2. People will buy bulldozers from their mobile phones!

!OK, so mobile commerce may be ‘e-commerce on a small screen’ but it’s still a feat to induce so many people to shop this way.!!Last year, PayPal revealed that the largest transaction it processed via its mobile app was a $48,000 bulldozer.!!!!!!


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3. There’s big business giving app makers easy access to

card payments!

!When retailers set up mobile sites and apps, they quickly realise they need well-designed payment screens that link to all major currencies, cards and banks.!!Lots of firms are happy to provide this.!!These specialists give merchants an API to embed into their sites so they can accept all sorts of card payments in multiple currencies – in return a transaction fee.!!They include Stripe, Paymill, Zooz, Braintree and others.!!!!!!!

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4. Apple won’t do payments. It’s too risky!

!Ooh, I’m going out on a limb here.!!Yes, patents have been registered. Yes, experts have been hired. !!But will Apple really extend iTunes into the real world? Payments require refunds, chargebacks, regulations, customer care…!!Does Apple want the hassle? What would all this to for its cool brand image?!!I think Apple will turn Passbook into something richer that may support third party transactions, but it will stay out of the business itself.!!!!

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5. ‘Co-opetition’ is everywhere as giants try to

figure out m-payment !

!!!Huge organisations including banks, retailers, card companies and operators are forming JVs to try out mobile payment ideas.!!Visible examples include Isis (US), Weve (UK), MCX (US) and 4T (Nordics). !!In Spain, Telefonica, CaixaBank and Santander formed ‘the first alliance in Europe between financial institutions and telecom operators’!!None of them knows exactly what works yet, of course.!!!!!


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6. Bank of Wal-Mart: retailers do their own thing in m-commerce!

!!Google wants to handle your in-store payments. So do the mobile operators (Isis, Weve) and so do the card companies.!!But if mobile makes it so easy to keep a top-up wallet on your phone, why wouldn’t a retailer want a piece of that action?!!In 2012, 14 US retailers formed the Merchant Customer Exchange to establish a single QR code based wallet for their millions of shoppers.!!The consortium says MCX represents merchants with more than $1 trillion in annual sales across nearly every merchant vertical.!!!!

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7. Mobile bank transfers to pay friends could become mobile bank

transfers to pay shopkeepers!!!!Last year, Barclays launched PingIt, an app that links mobile numbers to bank accounts and lets users settle small debts.!!Inevitably, the bank will extend the idea into retail, by wrapping up PingIt phone numbers in QR codes.!!These codes could be printed on billboards, print or packaging.!!When scanned they will trigger the PingIt app with pre-populated item details and price.!!Other companies are working on similar schemes, like Zapp and Mobile Money Network.!!!!!


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8. Why not scrap branches and launch a bank on an app?!

!!People like to use apps to do banking. Most banks know this, and have launched apps as a response. !!But some have gone further.!!US-based GoBank says it’s the world’s first bank to be designed with mobile as its starting point.!!No branches. Just an app.!!And there are no fees either.!!Amazingly, customers choose how much they will pay each month. !!!!!!

! ! ! !!! ! ! !!! ! ! !Contact author Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

9. Banking apps could make you more careful with your money!

!!!!!It’s a long time since we were all paid in cash and we knew at a moment’s notice how much money we had left till payday.!!Maybe mobile wallets can take us back to that time – and make us a bit more responsible again.!!A mobile banking app that uses graphs to illustrate how much we have in our accounts, where the money has gone, how our spending compares with last month/year…!!It could change the way we behave.!!!!!!


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10. Maybe it’s better for your

phone to be your credit card than to store your credit card!!

!!!What if you could embed card details into the chipset of your phone?!!No hacker could get anywhere near it. And when you wanted to make an online payment, your phone would not access your card, it would be your card.!!This is the idea behind ARM’s Trustzone technology, which can be programmed into the hardware of any device.!!!!!!!

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11. Why fill out long checkout payment forms when you could snap a barcode?!

!!!!Card payment forms take ages to fill. They deter people from making purchases online – and it’s even worse on a small mobile screen.!!This is why a number of firms want to wrap up all this payment and delivery info in a barcode. Snap it once and the transaction is made.!!For example, Hong Kong’s MPayMe does it with its ZNAP app. !!Paddle is working with M&S on something similar.!!!!!!

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!! ! ! !Contact author Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

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12. No one talks about MyBank much. Perhaps they should!

Paying for things online is time consuming with all those forms to fill. !!This is why PayPal is so keen to get in and simplify the process, and why Visa is launching the V.me wallet.!!But 64 European banks are hitting back with MyBank, which gives users the ability to make direct bank transfers on e-commerce sites esasy. !!You just click the logo, sign-in and enter a PIN to go direct to your own account.!!It’s already been added to a shopping app.!!!!

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13. Don’t bank a cheque or card payment. Photograph it!

!In the US, companies have rolled out systems that use the phone camera to take pics of cheques or cards, capture info and transmit it to the bank. !!The process helps app users avoid the boring routine of entering card or cheque numbers should they wish to make an online or in-app purchase.!!Active firms include Jumio, PicturePay, Malauzai Software, Prazee, Card.io (now part of PayPal) and others.!!Understandably, some regulators are nervous about it. It’s not permitted in the UK.!!!!!!

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14. Phones will replace cash tills before they replace wallets!

!“Paying is not exciting; getting paid is”!

!The first mobile payments revolution is happening not for consumers, but for merchants.!!Square started the craze for plug-in dongles that turn a phone or tablet into a card reader. They call it mPOS.!!This year, Square expects to transact $15bn across its network.!!Now, plumbers and hairdressers are taking payments by phone. Large established retailers are doing it too.!!And dozens of mPOS firms are competing: iZettle, Payleven, SumUp, CardEase, PayAnywhere, Intuit, PayPal, Groupon, mPowa, Handpoint!!!!!

! ! ! !!! ! ! !Contact author Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

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15. mPOS could turn every individual into a retailer!

!What stops the seller at a boot sale from taking card payments? !!Expensive kit and lengthy sign-up.!!But with mPOS, everyone can be a retailer. !!One mPOS supplier, Payleven, has specifically targeted ‘civilians’ with a paperless sign-up process that can be completed in hours.!!!!!!!!


16. Be like Urban Outfitters. Replace that big ugly cash desk

with an iPad !!!The cash desk looks ugly, takes up valuable selling space and attracts queues, which shoppers hate.!!Thanks to mPOS, retailers can remove desks and give staff phones or tablets so they can take payments where they like: like the fitting room or the exit.!!Trendy clothes store Urban Outfitters is already doing it – saving money, freeing up space and changing the dynamic of its stores.!!!!!!


17. You could pay for parking, wi-fi and e-books with

phone credit!!Operator billing lets people buy digital items from the phone bill. It’s very quick compared to card or PayPal, and opens up the market to those who don’t have a bank account or payment card.!!Research has shown operator billing increases transactions by up to 13 times.!!In the past, it’s been used for ‘mobile consumables’ like ringtones, music tracks, games and apps.!!Now, there are some new areas to explore…!!These include wi-fi access, parking, premium access to flat sharing schemes, console gaming ‘points’ and more.!!It’s why some analysts reckon the market could be worth $13bn by 2017.!!!!!

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!! ! ! !Contact author Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

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18. You can buy digital goods with phone credit – even when

you’re on a desktop site!!It’s been said a lot… operator billing has a lot going for it: quicker than cards, secure, available to people who don’t have bank accounts. !!It even works on the fixed internet thanks to firms like Boku, Mopay, Zong, OneBip, Payvia, Bango, BillToMobile and Payone.!!Typing your phone number into a box is much faster than filling out a card payment form.!!

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19. Operators could forget about payments and focus on identity!

!If all your payment details are stored on the cloud, then the central problem for any mobile transaction becomes authentication.!!Think about it.!!This is why some people think operators should forget about payment apps and services and focus instead on identity.!!Your phone contains your SIM ID, photos, a certain amount of memory use, songs, texts. !!All these elements combine to create a single unique identifier of YOU. !!What’s more, a phone is (nearly) always with you so you can verify your identity in real time when sent a unique code. !!!!!!

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20. NFC m-payment will only take off when the stakeholders

agree on a business model!!!!How to make NFC payment work on mobile? Oh, that’s tricky.!!Operators want to host the ‘secure element’ (where all the sensitive data is stored) inside the SIM. And they want a rental fee for doing so.!!Banks are wary.!!Some prefer the idea of working with OEMs: “Because by having deals with Samsung, BlackBerry, Nokia and Apple you’ve covered the world.”!!Maybe this is why Berg Insight says only three NFC mobile wallet services outside Asia Pac have an addressable market of more than 100,000 people.!!!!!!!

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21. You can put an NFC wallet in the cloud !

!It seems a bit counter-intuitive. The whole point of NFC is that it’s contactless, so the tech needs to be in your hand, right?!!Not necessarily.!!A few firms – RBC, Bankinter – have launched platforms that put the security features of NFC in the cloud. !!Operators are watching carefully. They’d rather the ‘secure element’ of NFC wallets went in the SIM.!!!!!!!

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22. You can use NFC to make a payment from your phone bill!

!!Usually any discussion of NFC contactless payments assumes the user is paying with a credit card.!!But there’s nothing to stop you tapping to pay from the phone bill.!!txtNation is using RapidNFC tags to do just this. !!!!!!!!


23. Squeal if you want to pay faster!

!!!There are alternatives to NFC for proximity payments. You only need a channel that can transmit data.!!So how about audio?!!Alipay, Cinkle and Naratte are all using inaudible sound to send payment information. !!!!!!!!!!

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24. Social media payments #1: Pay by BBM!

Not long ago, VoIP was the grand enemy of the telcos, promising to steal all their voice and text revenues.!!Now, mobile networks bundle Skype et al into their packages.!!So it’s no surprise that IM apps are sending payments. !!Indonesian users can now pay by BBM…!!!!!!!

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25. Social media payments #2: Pay by Twitter comment!

What if you could just write ‘buy’ in response to a Tweet or Facebook update from a retailer you like.!!You can.!!Chirpify runs a platform that turns social media comments into transactions. So does Soldsie. And Yandex.!!Merchants sign up and then send out a message with instructions on how to buy the item. !!This could be a simple as a retweet using the word ‘buy’. !!When a registered user does this, the action deducts the amount from a linked account.!!!!!!!


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26. Google’s new payment idea: email!

!Google hasn’t done well with Google Wallet. !!It may do better with ‘pay by Gmail’.!!Users in the US can attach money to their emails – just as they would an image or word doc.!!To send money in Gmail, users hover over the attachment paperclip, click the $ icon to attach money to the message, enter the amount, and press send.!!See this video!!!!!


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27. ‘Easy’ – more important than cheap or clever: why Starbucks is

so good at m-payments!

!For all the efforts of Google, Isis et al, Starbucks’ single-purpose app stubbornly remains the most popular m-payments service of all.!!The app can be loaded with cash to generate a barcode, which is scanned at the till to debit a payment. !!By summer 2013, it was handling 4m mobile transactions a week from 10m users – 10 per cent of all US revs.!!Why? Because it’s simple. It just works.!!

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28. With a location-enabled wallet, you can pay just by

turning up!!!You walk into a shop and your GPS-enabled wallet app knows where you are.!!It instantly brings the shop to your home screen. When you’re ready to pay, you just enter the amount and send. Or smile at the assistant, who matches your face to their list of wallet customers.!!Not so far-fetched.!!Square and Droplet are already doing it. ! !!!

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29. Mobile vouchers are redeemed 20x more than paper coupons!

!Many m-payment concepts are tied to voucher promos than send people into stores. !!No wonder, since mobile vouchers can be wildly successful. !!According to Swedish specialist Mobilabs, paper coupons generate an average one or two per cent redemption rate, while mobile does 33 per cent. !!And when the offer is free, mobile can hit 66 per cent.!!UK specialist Eagle Eye says mobile usually generates 20x more redemptions than paper.!!!!!!

! ! ! !!! ! ! !!! ! ! !Contact author Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

30. We’re all too Anglo-centric to notice that Turkey is blazing

a trail for mobile payments!

!Yes, Africa is doing the most in genuine mobile payments.!!But it’s arguable that elsewhere it’s Turkey that’s making the running.!!Turkcell has a branded pre-paid Garanti Bank card called Cep-T Para, which is linked to a Turkcell SIM. !!This gives unbanked users an entry into the banking space and the chance to check balances, make transfers and pay for items using text.!!It also has an NFC payments system, called Cep-T Cuzdan.!!By summer 2013, the services had 1m users.!!!!!!!

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31. Mobile payments for the unbanked and underbanked – not

just in ‘emerging markets’!

!!!The US Federal Reserve Board says mobile financial services are more prevalent among the 10 per cent of the population that is underbanked.!!It defines the underbanked as people with bank accounts but who use cheque cashers, payday lenders, or payroll cards.!!90 per cent of these consumers have mobile phones, and 49 per cent had used mobile banking in the 12 months preceding November 2012.!!!!!!!

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32. ‘Pay by M-Pesa’ is coming to apps and sites!

!M-Pesa has been a landmark product in the history of mobile money.!!It lets any phone user load up a phone with credit and then send money or pay bills be sending a text.!!It is used regularly by more than 15 million customers in Kenya, generating more than 165 million transactions per month.!!But nothing has been done to take M-Pesa wider than the core wallet made for Safaricom users. !!Now, the operator will open up its API to see what cool ideas developers can come up with to integrate M-Pesa into their own apps and sites.!!!!


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33. M-Pesa is not just for spending. Kenyans are doing

‘save by M-Pesa’ too!

M-Shwari was launched in November 2012 to add savings and loans to the transfers offered by M-Pesa.!!Customers sign up for a savings account directly through the M-Pesa menu on their phones.!!No forms to complete and no need to visit a bank branch.!!In two months, the scheme banked $11.6m.!

!!! ! ! !Contact author Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

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34. It’s not sexy, but mobile can do wonders for

accounts departments!!!Again, ‘paying is not exciting at all, getting paid is”. !!In the B2B space, people are still sending out paper invoices and getting cheques.!!It’s archaic. And it’s inefficient.!!Plenty of mobile firms want to change this. Mobile payment is fast and generates a detailed and automatic audit trail.!!An example is Buck Mobile Invoice, which lets customers settle up with merchants quickly while also reducing the paperwork and hassle for all involved.!!!!!

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35. Anonymity could be a USP – if anyone bothered to offer it !

!Digital currency is great for keeping records of transactions. But what about when people don’t want a record kept?!!Like when they’re buying presents for a loved one or videos of hot girl-on-girl action?!!Amazon may be aware if this.!!It filed a patent filing for an anonymous mobile payments system that supports transactions with no name, email address, or other personal details.!!!!!!!


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That’s all... So who wrote this stuff?!

!I’m Tim Green, founder of the website Mobile Money Revolution. I also launched the B2B site Mobile Entertainment.!!As a result I have an alarming interest in mobile content and commerce, which I love to write about in plain English.!!I’ve written loads of stuff in this singular style. !!So hire me to write for you – about any aspect of m-content and commerce. !!I do:!!•  Reports!•  Articles!•  Web copy!•  White papers!

I can also speak to your company about the ideas contained in this report. !!!

Contact Tim Green at [email protected]!! ! ! !twitter: @timgreen64, @mobilemoneyrev!

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35 mobile payments insights you can steal

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