ADN’co Payments Insight – December 2016

POS Checkout – Waving goodbye to cash counters?

• UNITED STATES – Amazon experiments Amazon Go, a concept store designed with a seamless customer process in mind.
• UNITED STATES – The US start-up Twyst proposes a connected bag in an attempt to address in store waiting time issues.
• FRANCE – Crédit Agricole Payment Services tests a connected table, pop&eat, in partnership with Lyon-based start-up MyBlueShip. Another step towards dematerialising customer processes in the catering industry.

In these instances, customers may leave the store with their purchases without having to go by the cash counter. These moves would stress merchants’ growing interest in “hands free” customer processes. Besides developing “in-store” mobile payment apps, they seek to let go of cash counters altogether for the safe of removing frictions.

Amazon applies in a physical context an approach long praised in their digital environment. Their point is to streamline transactions, make them “invisible”, and improve customer experience.

Real time – Strategic partnerships about to reshuffle the game?

• UNITED KINGDOM – Wirecard supports VocaLink Pay by Bank. Another way to shed light on this credit transfer-based payment solution.

The British market is getting ready for real-time money transfers. This announcement also highlights international players’ interest in this pioneering company behind Faster Payments. It would call for further moves for Pay by Bank and real time transfers in general, as Instant Payment is about to be implemented in Europe.

Credit transfer – BNP goes for the same strategy as BPCE

• FRANCE – BNP Paribas invests in PayCar, a start-up focusing on P2P payments for second hand cars.

Just like when BPCE bought out Depopass (whose services resemble PayCar’s), BNP Paribas invests in a start-up which focuses on securing P2P payments on a specific market (second hand car sales). They aim for a niche market while betting on an innovative start-up: a way for them to get ready for Instant Payment, and make room for P2P transactions.