Paydiant Expects Another Big Retailer To Debut Its Mobile Payment App Soon

By Kevin Woodward

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Another large retailer, with as many as 100,000 locations, will begin using a mobile payments app developed by Paydiant Inc. within the next few weeks, Jed Rice, senior vice president of business development, told attendees at the Northeast Acquirers Association conference last week in West Dover, Vt.

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Rice, who spoke during a panel discussion on mobile payments, would not release any additional details other than to say the number of locations could reach 100,000 within 18 months.

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He also said Paydiant will have its first deployment with a retailer using Bluetooth Low Energy devices in its stores in the next month. Bluetooth LE is a wireless data connectivity standard that enables compatible devices to communicate with each other. It can be used to determine a device’s location and, in retail, present offers or accept payments. Rice declined to disclose more details.

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Sandwich chain Subway is using the Paydiant app for its new mobile payment and loyalty program.

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Paydiant’s app, which is usually branded by the merchant, works by letting consumers use a smart phone to read a QR code displayed on a merchant’s terminal or monitor. The code, which represents a transaction identifier, triggers the app to ask the user to select from among payment credentials stored on Paydiant servers. The company runs an offers-management platform and was set to launch a loyalty platform this month.

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Wellesley, Mass.-based Paydiant charges a transaction fee in addition to a license fee based on the number of active users.

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Consumers using the Subway app will be able to order sandwiches remotely for pick up, Rice said. That may be a boon for Subway in bad weather. Because many of its locations do not have drive-through lanes, sales often fall when it rains, Rice said. Subway could offer a loyalty incentive via the app to entice consumers to come in then, he said.

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“When you start thinking about mobile payments, you have to think beyond moving money and think about how it opens us to have a host of additional products and services,” Rice said. Approach mobile commerce as a way to finding the best value-added services to layer atop the basic mobile payment element, he added.

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To do that effectively, fellow panelist Christina Dorobek, vice president of partner development at LevelUp, Boston, said independent sales organizations and acquirers must talk to business owners. “Look at the businesses you’re talking to and figure out what their goals are with mobile payments,” Dorobek said. “Gather data from the customer before making a recommendation.”