Tour de Mobile Payments - The Mobile Wallet & Main Street

By Randy Smith,
Mobile Wallet Media
September 12, 2012

How will mobile payments mesh best with Main Street?

It seems like it's gotten as complex and confusing as can be for retailers and even the mobile payment service providers themselves. 

We'll provide a legend to map out all the pieces, as well as strategy and opinion. At Tour's end the future of mobile commerce may be a bit more clear.

A foundation was laid for this article with our feature 7-Week Series, just completed on September 10th, "The 7 S's Required for Success in Mobile Payments." If you have not read it, you've missed much.

Before we begin the tour, let's look back at the history of contemporary mobile payments and wallets that has brought us to this point.

In 2008, Mocapay debuted at ETA and showed us an early vision of what a Mobile Wallet might look like. Another company, Mobibucks, also debuted at ETA in 2008, showcasing a solution that looks exactly like PayPal's 'Mobile Phone + PIN' entry on terminal solution (I reached out to Mobibucks, but never heard back for comment about PayPal's solution).

In 2009, MFoundry built the foundation for what would power the Starbucks Card Mobile App.

In 2010, SquareUp turned our heads by turning our iphones into a credit card terminal.  Also in 2010, TabbedOut launched by integrating directly to POS systems, thus enabling 'Pay at Table' transactions from the mobile phone without requiring a mobile POS device or to wait upon the server to pay and close out a tab. In the Summer of 2010, ISIS announced it was forming a carrier network. In the Fall of 2010, my former company, MobilePayUSA, followed by debuting at TechCrunch, giving us the first vision of what a 'Universal Mobile Wallet' might look like (Yes I'm a Homer). Paydiant and Cimbal showed us the way to turn a 2D bar code into a transaction ID and way to pay by scanning with a smartphone. And, Dwolla also launched reducing fees to 25 cents a transaction for merchants. 

In January of 2011, Starbucks Card Mobile launched and by March had already provided a solid proof of concept for the Mobile Wallet. Corfire was developed and would become the platform of choice for Dunkin Donuts. Google Wallet utilized MasterCard's PayPass to launch it's Mobile Wallet in the Summer of 2011.

2012 saw Visa debut V.Me at ETA, but has yet to make a push as a Mobile Wallet. PayPal, though it debuted a Digital Wallet in the Fall of 2011 and has showed us two alternative ways to pay, but has yet to debut a Mobile Wallet in the USA. PayPal has however shown us a preview of their Mobile Wallet plans in the UK.

This past Summer, Levelup and Kuapay showed us how to sprint with flair and relevance. After a Spring announcement, MCX revealed it's identity as a Merchant Coalition Mobile Wallet. Dunkin Donuts also got into the race and is powered by Corfire. And Moneto just recently announced it's Mobile Wallet works with PayPass. 

Will Apple's Passbook, teamed with the iphone5 (with NFC) and iO6 soon become a Mobile Wallet? 

Continue reading rest of article at MobileWalletMedia.com.

LEADING RETAILERS FORM MERCHANT CUSTOMER EXCHANGE TO DELIVER MOBILE WALLET

Press Release issued by MCX

MCX boasts unmatched scale and consumer insights for developing a mobile-commerce solution
DALLAS (August 15, 2012) – A group of the nation’s leading merchants announced today that it has
formed Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), a new company dedicated to offering consumers a versatile
mobile-commerce experience that will combine the convenience of paying at the register with
customizable offers.

Development of MCX’s mobile application is underway. The initial focus centers on offering merchants a
mobile-commerce solution capable of seamlessly integrating a wide range of consumer offers, promotions
and retail programs. The application will be available through virtually any smartphone.
MCX includes merchants such as: 7-Eleven, Inc.; Alon Brands; Best Buy Co., Inc.; CVS/pharmacy; Darden
Restaurants; HMSHost; Hy-Vee, Inc.; Lowe’s; Publix Super Markets, Inc.; Sears Holdings; Shell Oil Products US; Sunoco, Inc.; Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Combined, these initial members serve nearly every smartphone-enabled American and account for approximately $1 trillion in annual sales. While
current MCX merchants have unmatched scale, MCX intends to address the needs of financial institutions
and merchants of all sizes to better serve consumers in the growing mobile marketplace.

“MCX will leverage mobile technology to give consumers a faster and more convenient shopping
experience while eliminating unnecessary costs for all stakeholders,” said Mike Cook, corporate vice
president and assistant treasurer, Wal-Mart. “The MCX platform will employ secure technology to deliver
an efficiency-enhancing mobile solution available to all merchant categories, including retail stores, casual
dining, petroleum and e-commerce.”

“We believe MCX is uniquely qualified to offer the most comprehensive mobile payment options for
consumers,” said Terry Scully, president of financial and retail services, Target. “By participating in MCX,
merchants are in a position to effectively deliver innovative payment approaches that aren’t available
today.”

“As merchants, no one understands our customers’ shopping and payment experience better than we do,
and we’re confident that together we can develop a technology solution that makes that experience more
engaging, convenient and efficient,” said Mark Williams, president of financial services, Best Buy.
MCX expects to announce additional members during the coming months.

Visit MCX at http://www.mcx.com or for more information, email info@mcx.com


Mobile Wallet Media is a media, analyst and consulting firm focused on the future of mobile commerce. The company mission is to highlight industry innovation and provide insights and opinions that will be relevant and forward-looking. The author, Randy Smith, is the primary founder, inventor and former CEO of MobilePayUSA, a TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Alley Winner.