Posts tagged NFC payments
Have you met the AIRTAG Kit?
Dec 4th
Everyone at AIRTAG has been very excited about the launch of the AIRTAG Kit. Today, we are reminding everyone of this unique set of tools, with the official launch of the AIRTAG Kit in France. The AIRTAG Kit is a fastand easy way to 
develop a MasterCard PayPass Wallet Application using MasterCard’s recently released Mobile User Interface Software Development Kit (MMPP UI SDK) now available free for download via the MasterCard Developer Zone. The AIRTAG Kit contains the necessary hardware, tools and support to successfully complete your PayPass Wallet App development. It’s cost effective, easy to use and simplifies the MasterCard certification process.
What’s in the Kit? The Kit includes, the latest generation NFC Samsung Galaxy S3 with 3 pre-installed white label apps including a wallet, a USB Contactless Card Reader, 5 UICC samples, 2 demo tags, and a 1 year membership to the Developer Program. The Developer Program provides the ability to ask our own AIRTAG developers additional questions, support for issues you may have with the UI SDK or the AIRTAG Kit, additional resources; user guides for the MMPP UI SDK and the AIRTAG Kit, tutorials, manuals, payment scheme support and support for additional Smartphone platforms as they become available. These resources provided in the Developer Program are used by our own AIRTAG developers to build mobile payment & wallet apps. Where else would you be able to get ongoing support from a group of NFC Mobile Payment experts at such a low cost? More >
AIRTAG thoughts on the benefits of online NFC payments
Nov 14th
A recent statement that caught the AIRTAG teams attention was MasterCard’s announcement last week of a new partnership with ING to offer online payments as part of the PayPass based platform 
in the Netherlands. PayPass more than a service but a platform, includes an online payment system, branded services and an API giving developers a tool to integrate PayPass into many different systems. MasterCard’s and ING’s PayPass online payments will offer shoppers enhanced security, the ability to apply coupons and vouchers to their purchases and receive digital receipts. According to a new study by AOL and BBDO 40% of purchases from Smartphone devices occur from home, the couch or anywhere else. Now MasterCard will offer those shoppers an even easier way to pay from anywhere. With PayPass online payments, there are two possible Customer Journeys;
Customer Journey #1: Merchandise selected, Payment method selected, Shipping details are entered and Pin is entered (The phone will supply EMV compliant cryptogram to communicate directly with the retailers payment terminal)
Customer Journey # 2: Shopping is started on a tablet, Products selected, Billing information entered, QR Code is sent. The user would then tap their Smartphone on the tablet to make the payment, connecting the PayPass app directly with the merchants shopping cart
This new pilot is part of MasterCard’s initiative to offer “converged payments experiences, in-store, online or a mobile device.” (MasterCard Press Release) With the approach of the holidays consumers now more than ever are mobile shopping and showrooming for convenience and to maximize savings. It’s great to see MasterCard proactively responding to consumer behavior changes by offering easier ways to pay when Mobile Shopping both in-store or anywhere else.
AIRTAG is happy to announce the launch of the AIRTAG Kit.
Oct 18th
AIRTAG is very excited to have announced yesterday, the launch of the AIRTAG Kit; a set of smart tools designed to make the deployment of NFC Mobile Payment applications easier and more accessible than ever. We have been working together with MasterCard for more than a year with a goal of providing something truly relevant and useful in today’s Mobile Payment marketplace. The AIRTAG Kit, is meant to be used alongside MasterCard’s recently released Mobile User Interface Software Development Kit (MMPP UI SDK), and together they are the best way to develop your Mobile PayPass™ app.
What exactly is in the AIRTAG Kit?
The Kit includes, the latest generation NFC Samsung Galaxy S3 with 3 pre-installed white label apps including a wallet, a USB Contactless Card Reader, 5 UICC samples, 2 demo tags, and a 1 year membership to the Developer Program.
Tell me more about the Developer Program?
First, let’s take a minute to introduce the AIRTAG team. The technical geniuses behind the operations at AIRTAG HQ includes 50+ experts in NFC, mobile app development, mobile marketing and mobile engineering. They develop Mobile applications, online platforms and NFC in-store readers and devices for brands like McDonald’s, MasterCard, Carrefour, Reebok, Dior, Casino, G20, Orange, NRJ Mobile and many others. A team with more than 6 years of experience. They are as expert in the field as it gets.
Through the Developer Program included in the AIRTAG Kit, you will have the ability to ask our own AIRTAG developers your additional questions in the AIRTAG Kit forum and get support for issues you may have with the UI SDK or the AIRTAG Kit. The Developer Program also provides additional resources; user guides for the MMPP UI SDK and the AIRTAG Kit, tutorials, manuals, payment scheme support and support for additional Smartphone platforms as they become available. These resources provided in the Developer Program are used by our own AIRTAG developers to build mobile payment apps. Where else would you be able to get ongoing support from a group of NFC Mobile Payment experts at such a low cost?
AIRTAG’s CEO and Co-founder Jérémie Leroyer had a few words to share with Venture Beat’s journalist John Koetsier, on the AIRTAG Kit and our ongoing partnership with MasterCard. “The Airtag kit is the second part of our partnership with MasterCard, and contains all of the hardware and software needed to build and test PayPass apps, including resources for the developer community.”
The AIRTAG team would be very happy to answer any additional questions that you may have, so please get in touch, by visiting www.airtagkit.com or by following us on Twitter: @airtag
Learn more about MasterCard’s Mobile UI SDK
Wider retailer adoption could be the force to drive NFC payments
Jul 30th
“Consumers will happily make NFC mobile payments if the opportunity arises.” (NFC Payments Report, 2012)
The NFC Payments Report 2012, gives some interesting perspective insight leading up to the predictions for mobile payments in 2012. 
After interviews and surveys with more than 3,000 consumers and 500+ industry experts and executives, conclusively 2012 should be the “tipping point” for NFC mobile payments. However, the anticipated growth can only become a reality with a fair amount of pull-together from all players in the equation because a few essential pieces are still missing.
Consumers
According to the report; 2/3 of consumers interviewed from both the US and UK, would not hesitate to make an NFC payment, if the service was readily available. Getting additional consumers on board; according to the experts, is constitutive of all parties (including retailers) relaying information strongly emphasizing the wider benefits of mobile payments.
Industry Experts
At this point the industry experts are already convinced. Executives believe that mobile payments will be a strong source of revenue and that mobile payments will be able to deliver more effective up and cross selling.
Retailers
According to the report, the seemingly most difficult aspect of mobile payment adoption is the convincing of retailers. Building customer enthusiasm is more a standard marketing procedure whereas retailers want to see tangible benefits and results e.g. investment return.
Although retailer “partnerships are still not cemented,” they are absolutely necessary for wider success. This may well be dependent on four factors;
- Cost of the required POS technology
- Visible Investment return
- The cost of participating in the “wallet”
- Intermediary charges
In proximity shops where paying as quickly as possible with an NFC device would be most visibly convenient; newspaper stands, fast-food restaurants, grocery stores and coffee shops; independent retailers will likely be more hesitant to adopt a service that may lower profit margins. A detail that still needs to be given considerable thought is the intermediary fees in those situations.
Although early 2012, has already seen a lot of traction from leading retail brands in their uptake of mobile payment strategy as well as the implementation of NFC capable cash software; further adoption by large scale retailers and retail chains experts argue, is still an important factor that will continue to push the whole industry forward.
Read more about the NFC Payment Report 2012
Drastic growth in NFC enabled POS devices expected by 2017
Jun 11th
It is estimated that within 5 years 86% of POS terminals will be NFC enabled in North America. Europe and the rest of the world to see a penetration of 78% a
nd 38% respectively.
We may only be in the early stages of NFC payment technology, but the market will continue to see rapid growth. The worldwide penetration of NFC payment availability was at 8% in 2011 but is expected to grow to 53% in 2017. According to Berg Insight; a firm specializing in premier business intelligence for the telecom industry, NFC enabled point of sale terminals will grow from 3.9m to 43.4m, by 2017; with the US seeing the highest density.
The large 2011 market growth is attributed to the nationwide roll out of previous NFC pilot projects.
“The rapid growth was driven by a transition in the NFC-payments ecosystem from performing trials to accelerating the rollout of NFC-ready payment infrastructure, in preparation for the arrival of NFC-based mobile payment services,” say the forecasters at Berg.
The capabilities of NFC enabled POS terminals affect not only the whole payment ecosystem but also other important business aspects such as customer service and marketing, some of the reasons NFC is such an attractive market.
“Mobile wallet services will create an unprecedented opportunity for retailers to interact with consumers in real-time while their purchasing decisions are being formed, for instance by delivering personalized offers in real-time while consumers are inside the shop”, says Lars Kurkinen, telecom analyst at Berg Insight.
The Berg Insight report concluded 2 major details:
- The emergence of mobile wallet services will be the most significant development in the payment industry in the preceding years.
- The value-added services such as coupons, loyalty cards and good planning will be integrated into the daily POS terminal to allow a seamless experience for consumers.
Read the Berg Insight Report Summary
Read the full article on NFC WORLD
Relevant and Innovative: PayPal announces new POS solutions
May 31st
Last month PayPal unveiled its PayPal Payment solution which allows retailers to provide online and offline payments with a PayPal compatible POS system. Among the brands that will feature this service are: Abercrombie & Fitch, Advance Auto Parts, Aéropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Barnes & Noble, Foot Locker, Guitar Center, Jamba Juice, JC Penney, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Nine West, Office Depot, Rooms To Go, Tiger Direct and Toys “R” Us. The large variety of brands adopting this technology emphasizes that in-store solutions are for retailers of all products and sizes.
PayPal’s solution ensures retailers do not need to install any complicated equipment, instead because PayPal has signed contracts with POS manufacturers Ingenico and more recently a contract signed with both VeriFone and Equinox, “the number one and number three point-of-sale terminal manufacturers in the world,” (David Marcus, President of PayPal writes on the company blog) ensures the technology is already integrated by the POS manufacturer.
PayPal emphasizes the need for retailers to engage with their customers at every point in the journey, or risk becoming irrelevant. The features of PayPal’s solution are that it provides customers with a better shopping experience, extends loyalty programs and allows retailers to engage and connect with clients on multiple channels.
“PayPal’s offline solutions are much more than just a way to pay. We’re helping merchants connect with consumers at every stage in the shopping cycle. Before they come into the store, while they’re in the store, or even after they’ve left. We’re able to drive consumers through a retailer’s doors with relevant offers, coupons and discounts, then maintain a relationship with that consumer that keeps bringing them back to the retailer, in store or online.” (David Marcus, PayPal Blog)
Read more about the features of the PayPal offline/POS solution
Read more about Mobile Shopping Solutions
Samsung prepares for NFC with Samsung Galaxy III, Google Wallet being rethought
May 29th
The shortcomings of the Google Wallet have been a recent discussion topic of bloggers and other publications and according to Bloomberg, Google is now reconsidering its Wallet strategy. 
The adoption of the Google Wallet system has been less than expected and now Google may be considering using an incentive to entice carriers to adopt the Google Wallet. This strategy could even include perks such as the sharing of Google Wallets revenue’s with telecom providers in the hopes of increasing the implementation of the service. (Engadget)
According to Bloomberg, Google is also considering moving towards the adoption of in store terminals, a feature of NFC payments that other E-Wallet providers have been working on since the get go.
But, while Google considers its strategy of approach for NFC payments, more cell phone manufacturers such as electronic giant Samsung are making the preparations for NFC payment technology with their own systems in mind. Samsung recently confirmed that the next flagship phone, the Galaxy S III will contain an embedded chip to support NFC payments.
The features of the Galaxy S III include; enhanced security features and both proximity and online payment systems, which could all be part of Samsung’s own Wallet strategy.
The system would likely support the already established NFC payment systems such as Visa’s V.me and the MasterCard PayPass, according to NFC Times.
Although the Galaxy III will contain an NFC chip, whether the embedded chip will be activated or not is still in question. In markets such as the US, the telecom providers may have the final say as to whether or not the feature will be enabled for use.
Samsung’s progress raises the discussion of whether other mobile manufacturers will adopt their own Wallet systems for NFC payments, perhaps in a way that can be better integrated with other existing NFC payment technology.
Read the Full Press Release from Samsung about the features of the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Read more about Bloombergs comments on the Google Wallet