Marketing with New Technology

Bank of America & Visa Testing Mobile Payments for Consumers August 20, 2010

As U.S. retailers and consumers are becoming more and more aware of the capabilities of Mobile Technology and the benefits it can provide, they are continuing their exploration into the many segments of Mobile that are still untapped in the U.S. marketplace (Europe, Asia and other parts of the Global community are far ahead of us in their adoption of Mobile technologies).  Mobile commerce / Mobile payments is one of those untapped opportunities that is finally being explored by the major players in the financial industry.  The story below details a study that is soon to be underway by Bank of America and Visa regarding consumers use of their Mobile devices for making purchase payments.

However, it should be noted that this technology is already available from a multitude of vendors in the U.S. and is being used by a number of U.S. based firms in some test markets – particularly in the fast-food industry.

Should your firm be interested in exploring the use of Mobile payments for your business, please contact us via our website, or email at Info@StrategicGrowthConcepts.com; we’ll be happy to arrange for you to work with the Mobile services vendors most appropriate for your business.

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Christina Warren, Mashable

Soon, some New Yorkers will be able pay for their purchases with their smartphones rather than their credit cards.

Bank of America and Visa are working together to launch a new test program that will bring digital wallet capabilities to smartphones.

The program will start in New York in September and run through the end of the year. Visa is planning on rolling out a similar test program with US Bancorp in October.

Users in the test program will be given small chips to insert in their smartphones. These chips emit radio signals over very short distances and can communicate directly with point-of-sale systems in stores. By waving their smartphones near cash registers, users can automatically send payments and banking information.

This sort of technology has existed in Europe and Asia for the better part of a decade, but mobile-based purchases have yet to really take off in the U.S.

As smartphone and mobile usage continues to climb, however, it looks like U.S. consumers might finally join the revolution. In addition to the Bank of America/Visa program, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Discover Financial Services are also working together on a joint mobile payment system.

Startups like Square are also jumping into the mobile and micro-payments arena. Likewise, PayPal has been ramping up its mobile offerings. Both the iOS and Android versions of PayPal Mobile include Bump technology that allows users to easily transfer payments by waving or bumping their devices. In our discussions with PayPal, the company has also indicated that it is very interested in working with other partners to make it easier for businesses to collect payments using PayPal from mobile devices.

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The author, Linda Daichendt, is Founder, CEO and Managing Consultant for Strategic Growth Concepts, a marketing / management consulting firm focused on start-up, small and mid-sized businesses.  Areas of specialization include:  Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Virtual Events production.  Linda is a recognized small business marketing expert with 20+ years of experience in a wide variety of industries. 

Linda is available for consultation on Mobile Marketing and other topics, and can be contacted at Linda@StrategicGrowthConcepts.com.  The company website can be viewed at www.StrategicGrowthConcepts.com .  For more information on Mobile Marketing please visit the Mobile Marketing section of the Strategic Growth Concepts website.