Whilst Apple’s failure to include NFC technology in its
recent iPhone updates has put the mobile wallet on hold for most, there are a number of companies intent on pressing on without it. When you consider our willingness to puchase on the Smartphone (with purchases jumping from $155m to $5.6bn in just 2 years) you can understand why!
Whilst there are a number of players in the space, Square and Paypal are two key combatants leading the mobile wallet charge, and doing it well.
Paypal is set to launch new technology at the end of this week at Glue Store's flagship Pitt St Sydney store, after which it will be rolled out across Victoria, NSW and QLD. Whilst being reported in some circles as offering 'facial recognition technology, it doesn't quite go that far. Users simply browse the store until they've found what they want, check in at the store and order on their smartphone. Their photo ID then pops up on the sales assistant's screen to verify its them, the payment is done and the customer is on their way.
According to Paypal, this is the first time consumers have been able to use their digital wallet in physical stores in this country. Sonoma bakery and Guzman Y Gomez mexican restaurants will also be on board within a year.
The holy grail for payment providers such as MasterCard and Visa is to shift our cash spend on small items, such as the daily coffee, to card payments, and whilst contactless payments are currently at work here, the real shift will come when the mobile wallet really takes hold.
So it's not surprising to know that Starbucks has also been trailblazing in this area and has just upped the ante. Keen to be seen as an innovator, Starbucks has announced it is now accepting payments for coffee with Square Wallet at over 7,000 of its outlets in the US. This is big news for Square who has now gone national, after having worked to-date with up to 200,000 smaller, independent, local retailers.
Whilst there are a number of players in the space, Square and Paypal are two key combatants leading the mobile wallet charge, and doing it well.
Paypal is set to launch new technology at the end of this week at Glue Store's flagship Pitt St Sydney store, after which it will be rolled out across Victoria, NSW and QLD. Whilst being reported in some circles as offering 'facial recognition technology, it doesn't quite go that far. Users simply browse the store until they've found what they want, check in at the store and order on their smartphone. Their photo ID then pops up on the sales assistant's screen to verify its them, the payment is done and the customer is on their way.
According to Paypal, this is the first time consumers have been able to use their digital wallet in physical stores in this country. Sonoma bakery and Guzman Y Gomez mexican restaurants will also be on board within a year.
The holy grail for payment providers such as MasterCard and Visa is to shift our cash spend on small items, such as the daily coffee, to card payments, and whilst contactless payments are currently at work here, the real shift will come when the mobile wallet really takes hold.
So it's not surprising to know that Starbucks has also been trailblazing in this area and has just upped the ante. Keen to be seen as an innovator, Starbucks has announced it is now accepting payments for coffee with Square Wallet at over 7,000 of its outlets in the US. This is big news for Square who has now gone national, after having worked to-date with up to 200,000 smaller, independent, local retailers.
Square Wallet is a mobile payments system that allows you to
pay for things at participating retailers with your smartphone. Users simply
upload their Debit or Credit card details into their Square Wallet and they can
then make purchases at those retailers by phone. Similar to Paypal (who have perhaps copied Square) the users photo and details, such as previous purchase history, favourite order etc, appears on the POS
screen every time that user pays with the Square Wallet. It even has a voice
activated option so you can pay hands free.
One of the enjoyable user experience aspects of Square is
that it allows the user to initiate the purchase by simply opening the app and
showing their face to the person behind the counter. While this won’t be
available immediately with Starbucks, it will eventually be implemented. At the
moment the retailer will scan a barcode on the phone but GPS technology will be
implemented shortly to make the experience much more seamless.
Interestingly one of the co-founders of Square was Jack
Dorsey, one of the creators of Twitter, after a friend called complaining about
a lost sale due to an unavailable payment option.
Just to finish off, still in the space of improving the user purchase experience, Walmart are trialling a pilot program that allows
shoppers to scan items as they add them to their shopping basket, without
having to re-scan them again at the check-out. The items are immediately added
to the POS system at the check-out and all the customer has to do is pay. Whilst
this is a great feature in itself, it signals that the days of scanning your
items as you shop and for the payment to happen without the need of even going
through the check-out, can’t be too far away…
The opportunity: Mobile payments will become the way we pay in the not too distant future. The funnctionality itself will be great for users, but the bigger opportunity is what added value can we provide to our customers at that point. We'll be able to know when they're close to the store, when they enter, how they browse, where they're getting stuck, along with information such as their preferences, previous purchase history, membership of loyalty programs and more. How we use that information to make the shopping experience better and keep them coming back is the critical part.
The opportunity: Mobile payments will become the way we pay in the not too distant future. The funnctionality itself will be great for users, but the bigger opportunity is what added value can we provide to our customers at that point. We'll be able to know when they're close to the store, when they enter, how they browse, where they're getting stuck, along with information such as their preferences, previous purchase history, membership of loyalty programs and more. How we use that information to make the shopping experience better and keep them coming back is the critical part.
KC - we are currently trialling a Mobile scan and go option through our app. Planned rolled out after further testing and refinement is approx. Mar on a store by store basis. I'm also discussing other options available through Apple Passbook. Will add Square Wallet to the review list.
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