M-Wallet News Roundup: Apple, Samsung and Google (Jan. 26, 2015)
The biggest names in mobile wallets aren’t wasting time snatching headlines in the New Year.
Apple Pay continues to make major inroads just three months into its existence, in addition to promoting more NFC purchases overall. McDonald’s and Walgreens, two of Apple Pay’s early merchant adopters, told the service has led to a surge in contactless payments for in-store purchases—both via Apple Pay and other contactless platforms, according to the Wall Street Journal. Jim McCarthy, global head of innovation for Visa, called Apple Pay a “long term tipping point for mobile payments.”
Where there are lovers, there also are haters (or at least concerned lawmakers). The mobile wallet is the subject of a new state bill proposed in Missouri that would require shoppers to present photo ID when using Apple Pay to make a purchase. Joshua Peters (D), a member of the state’s House of Representatives, introduced the legislation last week, claiming the law would protect stores from liability over fraudulent purchases. Critics of the plan called the measure overkill, noting that Apple Pay already features a fingerprint sensor for ID verification.
Meanwhile, one of Apple’s main competitors in the smartphone market is preparing to launch a salvo of its own in the wallet arena. Samsung reportedly will debut a mobile payments platform the company developed with Visa at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in early March. According to reports, the service will be called Samsung Pay and will operate on the company’s new Galaxy 6 model—which will feature a fingerprint ID sensor similar to that of the iPhone 6.
Finally, mobile wallet veteran Google has announced that the Google Wallet Instant Buy API is being integrated by e-commerce payment processor WePay, which handles processing for more than 200,000 online merchants. Launched in 2013, Instant Buy enables users to complete online checkout in two clicks via mobile phone. Originally designed for use within Google Wallet itself, Instant Buy now is being marketed for integration with outside payment companies, with WePay as the first such integration partner.
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