Tag Archives: NFC technology

The Mobile Wallet War

November 11, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Mobile wallets continue to gain popularity among consumers, but they’re struggling to gain wide-spread adoption amidst a market of competing platforms. A survey by Trustev showed that only about 20% of compatible iPhone users and 14% of compatible Galaxy users have ever used the mobile payment feature on their phone.

So what’s holding people back? According to recent reports, the top challenges facing mobile wallet adoption are fear of identity theft (68%) and merchant acceptability (33%). But, as security technology continues to improve and more and more merchants upgrade their POS systems, we expect these concerns to dwindle in the not-so-distant future.

With each new mobile payment platform launch, the payment landscape is gaining complexity. To help you get up-to-speed on the latest and greatest in mobile wallets, we’ve provided a comprehensive list of the current options and the pros and cons of each platform.

Apple Pay

Arguably the most popular mobile wallet platform to-date, Apple Pay, is a payment system that allows users to make purchases via their smartphone by hovering it near an NFC-enabled credit card terminal.

Pros: Apple Pay is accepted at more than 700,000 retail locations and is supported by 2,500 banks and credit card issuers. Transactions made through Apple Pay are tokenized, which maximizes data security. A fingerprint scanning feature also boosts security.
Cons: The provisioning process for adding a payment card to an Apple Pay account lacks security, which is causing credit card thieves to turn to this platform to make fraudulent purchases. Additionally, Apple Pay is not accepted at Wal-Mart.
Compatible Devices: iPhone 6/6s, 6/6s Plus and Apple Watch for in-store purchases and iPad Air 2, iPad Pro and iPad Mini 3/4 for online purchases

Android Pay (Previously Google Wallet)

Android’s answer to Apple Pay, Android Pay is a similar platform in which users can make payments from their smartphones to an NFC-enabled terminal.

Pros: By the end of the year, Android Pay is expected to be accepted at just as many stores as Apple Pay (more than 700,000) as well as in a large number of apps. The platform, powered by Google, also uses the secure payment process of tokenization.
Cons: Fingerprint scanning is not available on older Android phones.
Compatible Devices: Android phones that have NFC technology

Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay is a payment app that allows users to complete transactions via NFC connection or magnetic stripe.

Pros: Users are able to make mobile payments at terminals that are not NFC-enabled. The phones are equipped with technology that allows them to be “swiped” like a magnetic stripe card, making Samsung Pay is the most widely accepted mobile wallet.
Cons: The magnetic stripe feature doesn’t always work as well as intended.
Compatible Devices: Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Note5 or later

Chase Pay

JP Morgan Chase has partnered with MCX and is expected to launch a new mobile wallet platform, Chase Pay, in mid-2016. Instead of using NFC technology like its competitors, Chase Pay will generate a unique QR code for each transaction that the cashier can scan.

Pros: Not all terminals are equipped with NFC technology, so the fact that this platform uses QR codes will significantly increase its acceptability. Additionally, since Chase has partnered with MCX, the wallet may have an edge with retailers who are resisting Apple Pay, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Shell.
Cons: The QR code process may not be as simple and efficient as competing NFC methods.
Compatible Devices: The app is expected to work with most Android and Apple phones

On top of these mobile wallets, other digital platforms, such as Snapchat and Facebook, now enable users to send money via personal message. With this rapid expansion of digital and mobile payment capabilities, the near future of the payment industry holds a lot of promise for change and growth. Stay tuned on the latest industry trends by following Abtek on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Breaking News

PaymentsSource: Tami Cohorst Explores the Future of Mobile Payments

August 17, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Tami Cohorst, our vice president, was recently featured on PaymentsSource, a global online resource for all things payment-related. Take a look at what she had to say about the future of mobile payments, according to data collected from social media:

Mobile payments are quickly becoming an integral part of consumers’ daily lives. In order for businesses to stay competitive, it’s important for them to stay on top of the trends in the industry.

Social media is an important way to accomplish that. It has emerged as a major influence on the mobile payment processing landscape. Payment service providers, financial institutions and merchants are monitoring online conversations and developing processes and technology based on what consumers want in terms of mobile payment experiences.

Keep reading at PaymentsSource.com→

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EMV® Cards, Merchant Service Providers, Mobile Wallets, PCI Compliance, Tokenization

Cheat Sheet: A Quick Reference Guide to Payment Processing Buzzwords

May 22, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Payment security is at an all time low and as a result, the payment industry is in process of getting a much-needed overhaul. With this rapid implementation of new rules, processes and technology, there are a lot of payment processing buzzwords that have recently entered into the industry vernacular.

As a business owner, you’re busy with your day-to-day operations, so keeping up on the latest payment processing news and trends is probably not at the top of your priority list. However, as these changes could eventually impact your business, it’s never been more important for you to be in the know.

To help you stay updated, we’ve compiled the following glossary of industry buzzwords for your quick reference.

EMV / Chip-and-Pin

EMV is the future of credit card processing, although it’s not exactly so futuristic anymore. If you’re not already aware of the EMV payment revolution happening in the United States, you can read up on the basics here. In a nutshell, over the course of the next few months, banks will begin to roll out new credit cards in an effort to phase out insecure magnetic stripe technology. These cards will be embedded with microprocessor chips that will allow for more secure transactions. But the benefits of these “EMV” or “chip-and-pin” cards won’t come to fruition unless business owners take action now and update their payment terminals.

PCI Compliance

PCI compliance is a term often shrouded in myths and misconceptions, but it isn’t all that confusing once you break it down. PCI is a set of 12 requirements that all merchants, no matter the size or industry, must meet to ensure a secure environment for credit card transactions. If you’re not sure what’s required of your business in order to establish compliance, you’ll want to check in with your merchant services provider or visit the Security Standards Council website.

NFC

Near field communication (NFC) is the technology that enables wireless data transfers between two devices in close proximity, without the need for an internet connection. Think of it like modern-day Bluetooth. Today’s smartphones are embedded with NFC technology to allow for consumers to make payments directly from their phones by simply tapping or waving their devices over an NFC terminal.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a mobile application that is sweeping the nation. Essentially, the application allows consumers to transform their phones into mobile wallets by syncing credit card information from their iTunes accounts. Consumers can simply wave or tap their phones over an NFC terminal (currently available at numerous retailers across the globe) to make a purchase.

Tokenization

When a credit card is swiped through a terminal set up for tokenization, the card’s Primary Account Number (PAN) is automatically substituted with a randomly generated sequence, called a token. Merchants can use this token to handle refunds, returns and manage other transaction details. The benefit? Tokenization takes sensitive payment card data out of the picture for merchants, eliminating the need to store the data on their networks and the risk of a data breach.

Stay updated on payment processing trends by following Abtek on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up to receive our newsletter, too.

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Merchant Service Providers, Mobile Wallets

Will Wearable Tech Revolutionize the Way Customers Pay?

March 23, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

The era of wearable device technology has arrived. In fact, recent studies show that approximately 30 percent of United States smartphone holders already own wearables. As technology continues to advance the development of these personal devices, there will certainly be an increase in more convenient payment options for consumers—and smart retailers are catching on.

Beyond Smartphones: Wearable Tech Offers Payment Convenience

Smartphones already offer a variety of applications capable of swiping cards, processing personal information and recording product metrics. But wearable tech may go even further when it comes to making the payment process more convenient for consumers.

While the impending Apple Watch has invoked much of the interest behind smartwatches, other high-tech wearable gadgets are being developed. For example, Disney already offers guests the ability to pay for items via MagicBand, a colorful bracelet that directly links to a personal credit or debit card. The so-called “Power Suit” allows its wearer to make payments via their clothing sleeve, through use of NFC technology. And many big-league fiscal providers, like Visa, have considered investing in creation of expansive technology to take these processes even further.

This small technological revolution has the potential to redefine the way in which consumers pay for goods and services. And as we anticipate where technology will take us in the near future, all eyes are on the coming Apple Watch and its Apple Pay capabilities.

Time Ticks Down to the Launch of Apple Watch

In recent months, the Apple Watch has single-handedly piqued smartwatch (and wearable tech) interest more so than previous rivals, like the Pebble or Samsung’s Galaxy, ever did.

Although it’s not set to arrive until April 24, the industry buzz is already undeniable. A two-part survey featured on Computerworld reflected a record 8,266 consumers placing higher interest in the Apple Watch than on the “revolutionary” Google Glass.

Tech corporations and industry gurus are taking note, and merchant services may receive a significant boost from the Apple Watch’s high flexibility towards sales processing—especially when it comes to the wearer’s ability to conveniently and quickly use Apple Pay. By offering such flexibility, smartwatches have definitely shifted from mundane “power person” ideology to more practical, professional solutions.

The Optimized Consumer and the Future of Payment Processing

Faster payment processing is always the endgame for retailers, so the wearable trend is a logical next step in attempting to near that goal. When the consumer is waiting in line for a shorter amount time, more payments are being processed, and at quicker rates. At first glance, this may appear as a minimal side effect, but the overall impact of highly optimized sales processing is astounding.

So where will the future take wearable technology and merchant sales? Likely, security will be a conservative pit-stop, as fiscal dealings are historically shaky when new technology arrives. However, if wearable tech is proven to be secure—and, if the industry begins thriving upon the shift towards speed processing—more technology may follow, and it’ll further redefine the industry.

For now, however, the wearable tech trend is still in its relative infancy. We’ll be watching to see where it takes us.

Stay updated on payment processing trends by following Abtek on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up to receive our newsletter, too.

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EMV / Chip-and-Pin

PCI Compliance

NFC

Apple Pay

Tokenization

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Beyond Smartphones: Wearable Tech Offers Payment Convenience

Time Ticks Down to the Launch of Apple Watch

The Optimized Consumer and the Future of Payment Processing

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Credit Card Processing and Merchant Account Solutions