Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
A test of contactless payment via mobile phones, launched this week in San Francisco, relies on near-field communication (NFC) technology not only to handle transactions but also to manage consumer rewards. It differs from past NFC pilots in the U.S. in another way: It doesn't rely on either the MasterCard …
Read More »MasterCard Streamlines OTA for Its Spokane M-Payments Pilot
With its latest pilot for near-field communication (NFC) technology, which was announced on Monday and got under way last Thursday with select U.S. Bancorp credit card holders in Spokane, Wash., MasterCard Worldwide is testing a streamlined version of handset personalization it hopes will make it easier for consumers to adopt …
Read More »Mocapay Readies for a National Rollout of Its M-Commerce Service
Fledgling mobile-payments processor Mocapay Inc., which has been handling transactions for about 200 merchants in the Boulder, Colo, and Cincinnati areas, plans to launch a national rollout of its service this spring, the company's chief marketing officer tells Digital Transactions News. The 2-year-old company plans to complete work on its …
Read More »Consumers Want Just One Account for NFC Payments, Survey Says
Many consumers seem willing to use their cell phones or other mobile devices for in-store payments, but the majority wants to have only one credit or debit card account enabled for wireless payments, according to new findings from New York City-based technology research firm ABI Research. The preference for just …
Read More »Survey Shows Heavy Carrier Reliance on Transaction Fees for NFC
In a development that could long complicate the introduction of commercial services allowing consumers to make point-of-sale payments with their mobile phones, mobile network operators say they will derive POS payment revenue chiefly from consumer transaction fees. According to research released this week, some 83% of carriers responding to an …
Read More »Firethorn Chief Says Qualcomm Deal Will Speed up M-Payments
Qualcomm Inc.'s $210 million cash deal for Firethorn Holdings Inc., announced on Wednesday, is expected to accelerate Firethorn's movement toward mobile payments and hands Qualcomm a significant stake in the rapidly developing markets for both banking and payments via handsets, according to Tripp Rackley, chief executive of Atlanta-based Firethorn. “All …
Read More »AT&T: 10 Million Phones Will Be Preloaded for Banking by End of ’08
AT&T Inc., which on Tuesday announced it is launching a nationwide mobile-banking service, expects to have 500,000 mobile phones preloaded with the software necessary for the service by the end of the year and 10 million handsets so equipped by the close of 2008, according to a senior executive with …
Read More »BSG Extends Its Bill-to-Phone Service to Mobile Commerce
BSG Clearing Solutions has started talking to sellers of digital merchandise about using a new service that would allow them to take payment for games, songs, and other such goods by charging the items to consumers' wireless bills. The targeted sellers for the new service are so-called off-deck merchants, or …
Read More »Third Time Could Be a Charm for BB&T in Mobile Banking
BB&T Corp. this week introduced a new mobile-banking service in which the Southeastern regional bank leaves little to chance. The bank will offer consumers three user interfaces for two-way interaction with BB&T through their cell phones or other mobile devices. And, in contrast to most banks' tech announcements, BB&T is …
Read More »With Verizon on Board, the Two Biggest Carriers Will Preload Firethorn
Mobile-banking and payments application developer Firethorn Holdings LLC scored a coup this week when Verizon Wireless, the nation's No. 2 mobile-phone carrier, announced it had picked Firethorn as a strategic partner for mobile banking and would preload Firethorn's system onto newly issued phones. The agreement means the nation's two largest …
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