22
Oct
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Isis Mobile Payments Start Today In Salt Lake City And Austin - Here's The Full Breakdown

Posted by in AT&T, News, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

Isis launched its mobile payments platform in Salt Lake City, UT and Austin, TX today, in a limited, initial rollout that's probably best viewed as a tech test more than an NFC payments panacea. We've know for quite some time that these would be Isis' launch markets (after numerous delays), and we also had a basic idea of how the system would work: NFC. What wasn't so widely-known is the fact that Isis uses the SIM secure element method to store payment credentials.

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This is in contrast to Google Wallet's method, where your virtual MasterCard (used as the medium through which your payments are processed) is stored in a secure element that is typically included as a part of the NFC chip.

26
Sep
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Bank Of America Spurns NFC For Image-Based Mobile Payment System, Now In Testing

Posted by in News

While Google and the ISIS consortium duke it out over the future of Near Field Communication and the payment systems that use it, one of the largest financial institutions in the US had decided to ignore it. Reuters reports that Bank Of America is testing a new system that will only require retailers to display a single image. Ideally this would negate the need for new hardware for both sellers and buyers - all that's required is an Android or iOS device with a camera and a mobile connection.

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The trial program will last three months, with startup Paydiant overseeing five retailers in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

23
Aug
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Head Of Google Wallet Says Negotiations With Other Carriers Are Underway, Hopes To Announce New Partnerships "Soon"

Posted by in Android OS, News

This morning, Google had a Wallet developer Q&A session on the Google Developers blog, featuring Robin Dua, the product manager for Wallet.

Dua hinted that person to person payments could be headed to Wallet soon, so be on the lookout for that. He also emphasized Wallet's focus on getting small businesses on board with the company's loyalty reward and offer platforms.

More interestingly, when asked in a viewer question why Wallet was only supported on a limited number of carriers, Dua responded that Google was in active negotiations with "a number" of carriers, and that he "hope[d] to have some new partnerships to announce soon." While clearly implying that there is a possibility of failure, the fact that Dua spoke to such negotiations at all is encouraging.

15
Aug
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Target, Walmart, Best Buy And More Are Making A Google Wallet Competitor Called MCX

Posted by in News

Yesterday, a rumor at the Wall Street Journal stated that major retailers like Walmart, Target, and 7-Eleven were in the process of teaming up to create their own mobile payment solution. They sure didn't waste much time on making it official, as this morning that solution was announced as "MCX" - or, Merchant Customer Exchange. Sexy.

This is a big deal, though. And it's a big deal because of the names in the headline above - quite literally most places where Americans buy things have come together to create a mobile wallet system. But it's not just Target, Walmart, and Best Buy.

01
Aug
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Google Wallet Updated To Support All Major Credit And Debit Cards, Goes Cloud Based

Posted by in Android OS, Applications, News

Holy crap - Google Wallet just dropped a bomb on everyone and announced that the service now supports Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. We sort of suspected something like this would happen, and Google has managed to do it by making Wallet payments partially cloud-based, as opposed to a fully embedded system.

This means Wallet will work offline for the actual payment (it stores an encrypted card ID in the NFC chip), but does require an active internet connection if you want switch payment options or add a new one. Your card should stick in the system once selected, and as long as it is selected, payment should continue to work offline.

08
Jun
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Rumor: Sprint Releasing Its Own Mobile Payment Service Called "Touch," Google Wallet Now Left High And Dry

Posted by in Android OS, News, Sprint

Well, we knew it was a possibility, and given Google Wallet's painfully slow adoption rate (by carriers and payment processors), rumors today from NFCTimes that the service's sole remaining partner Sprint is coming up with an alternative aren't exactly surprising.

NFCTimes says the service will be called "Touch," and will utilize a "secure element" system like Wallet (a physical chip) in order to securely process mobile payments. Likely by necessity, this would mean the end of support for Google Wallet on Sprint handsets released after the launch of the new "Touch" service. Two embedded payment systems would be confusing to average consumers, and Sprint will have much more control over its own service (as well as revenue from it), as compared to no control with Google Wallet - undoubtedly something it wants.

05
Mar
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What Is Isis, And Why Should You Care It's Now Partnered With A Bunch Of Payment Companies? Because It's Out To Kill Google Wallet

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, News

Mobile payment providers. Yeah, I'm already getting a little sleepy thinking about them, too. Let's face it, they're not the most exciting topic in the world, but whenever we talk about how people spend their money, you know there are lots of companies out there eagerly eying the potential of various new payment technologies with great interest. Among such companies are cell phone carriers, and the reason why should be obvious: smartphones with NFC are ideal platforms for next-generation payment systems.

We know Google has already figured this out. Wallet was launched back in September of 2011, though only on the Sprint Nexus S 4G, and only with MasterCard as a launch partner.

05
Dec
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Confirmed: Verizon's Galaxy Nexus To Lack Support For Google Wallet

Posted by in Galaxy Nexus, News, Verizon Wireless

In a rather unfortunate bit of news regarding Verizon's Galaxy Nexus, a rumor that the device will not have support for Google Wallet has been confirmed.

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A Google spokesperson confirmed to Computer World today that the hotly anticipated Nexus device won't support Google's burgeoning NFC-based mobile payment system, but gave no word as to why Verizon decided to forego the service.

Verizon's decision could have something to do, however, with Isis – a consortium comprised of VZW, AT&T and T-Mobile, who have paired with four major credit card companies to form their own NFC-based payment venture. Of course, this is purely speculation, as there's no official word just yet regarding the Nexus' lack of Wallet functionality.

26
May
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Google Wallet And Google Offers Are Official, Pay With Your Phone Using NFC

Posted by in News

A few days ago, we told you that Google was most likely going to announce a mobile payment service using NFC. Today, that announcement is official, and it's called Google Wallet. Wallet is exactly what the name suggests: a payment service that aggregates all of your credit cards, coupons, loyalty cards, and more, into your Android phone. You can then not only use your phone to pay, but it will also enter your customer loyalty information automatically, as well as redeem any coupons that are loaded into your Wallet using NFC (near field communication).

Here are a few bullets about Wallet, how it works, and what to expect:

  • This service is going to officially launch this summer, but a beta program is already underway in San Francisco and NYC.