ADN’co Payments Insight – August 2014

Impacting announcements in the mPOS sector

• FRANCE – Ingenico’s mPOS solution iCMP has been certified by Cartes Bancaires: a key announcement, first of its kind on this market.
• UNITED STATES – Square prepares an EMV-compliant version of its dongle, in line with the current EMV migration in the US.
• UNITED STATES – Amazon launches its dongle, Local Register.

In the wake of Square’s announcements, Amazon follows in eBay’s footsteps: its subsidiary entered the face-to-face payment market quite a while ago. Amazon again highlights its multichannel ambitions and, as already shown with Dash, intends to move closer to its customers. These tools are meant for this company to increase its visibility and make room for itself in its customers’ non-virtual daily lives.

This move is set in a rather favourable context, and also may benefit from the interest now paid by certification authorities.

PayPal: more mobile innovation

• UNITED STATES – PayPal and Braintree unveiled One Touch: an in-app, one-tap mobile payment solution, intended to streamline customers’ purchases.

Visa’s and MasterCard’s identifiers-based payment solutions Checkout/V.me and MasterPass are making progress, PayPal then relies on an innovative one-step feature to remain competitive.

Twitter / Stripe: in-tweet rumours confirmed

• UNITED STATES – underway discussions between Stripe and Twitter are leading to the implementation of an in-tweet payment service.

Banks and social media: controversial issues at stake

• JAPAN – Rakuten Bank lets its customers transfer funds via Facebook.

Facebook has become part of many banking customers’ lives, but still isn’t actually trusted… This announcement –and other recent initiatives on the part of social networks and messaging services– shows that social media are seeking to become part of a market long led by financial institutions and payment services providers… and, somehow, managing to do so.