Mobile Payment Domains

Takes on Real Meaning in 2016

Mobile Payment or Mobile Payments Technology is ready for expansion in a real and literal way. Mobile devices are going to become the go to way to make payments. Let’s see how and why.

The mobile payment market today is worth $210 billion. Many people miss the mark required to recognize its current value and its future in commerce.

We’re talking about mobile payments handling all of your banking and market purchases on mobile devices … yes, mobile and mobile payments. The technology needed to power this market – near-field communication (NFC) is poised to take off.

What is NFC technology?

NFC is the technology that allows two-way communication between endpoints. That is, NFC allows the connectivity of radio communication between two devices in close proximity (approximately 4 inches) in order to exchange or transfer data or information back and forth between the two devices.

NFC Technology relies on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which is the  wireless use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purpose of identifying tags attached to objects. The tag does not have to be in line of sight of the reader. It can read embedded tags not seen. Like the RFID tags placed in animals or cars for identification.

When one of the connected devices has Internet connectivity the communicating devices can also exchange data with Internet services.

In mobile payment applications, the devices are smartphones or wearables like the Apple Watch and a point-of-sale (POS) terminal at the register.

While only a small percentage of application owners actually uses the NFC technology available, it is poised to explode in 2016.

This is how it works?

When a customer stores their credit card information in their mobile device, goes to the register and wave the smartphone or mobile device within 4 inches of the NFC enabled device to pay, the payment is complete … simply by waving the device.

People are so use to swiping their bank cards on payment machines, it has been slow to take off. What we have now is pretty easy for the consumer to perform this task. Many just can’t see the value of NFC devices and the value it brings. Consumers seem to like it like it is right now. The space isn’t that great between them so many don’t use the technology.

Change on the Horizon…

Traditional Credit Cards are leaving us like the rabbit ears for television. What is the change?

In the past few months banks have been quietly sending out new debit card and/or credit cards. The difference is, these new cards are embedded with a microchip, known as EMV technology.

What is EMV Technology?

EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa, the three companies that originally created the standard. The standard is now managed by EMVCo, a consortium with control split equally among Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, China UnionPay, and Discover.

EMV is a technical standard for smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines that can accept them.

EMV cards are smart cards (also called chip cards or IC cards) which store their data on integrated circuits rather than magnetic stripes.

Many EMV cards also have stripes for backward compatibility so they will work either way it is swiped.

The banks claim the new EMV cards are for increased security. They want us to believe the new cards are for our benefit, making us feel more secure.

Now with this new “security” all we have to do is swipe the EVM or smart card and the payment terminal reads the chip, customer enters their pin to complete the transaction. Europeans are familiar with this so-called “chip-and-PIN” system.

As of 2015, chip and signature cards are more common in the United States, Mexico, the Philippines and some European countries (such as Germany and Austria), whereas chip and PIN cards are more common in other European countries (e.g., the UK, Ireland, France, Finland and the Netherlands) as well as in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Doesn’t it seem a little out-of-character for banks to initiate a payment system to look out for our better interest? Absolutely, it does!

The large banking institutions are always looking out for their best interest, not the customer or clients’ best interest.

Why are the banks changing to EMV technology?

Plain and simple … The EMV technology was created to shift liability for fraudulent transactions from the bank to the retailer.

As of October 1, retailers that don’t use Point of Sale terminals that support EMV smart cards will assume liability for any fraudulent transactions. Until now, banks and credit card companies were responsible.

The way the banks see it is, shift this liability to the retailers as fast as they can. Now, if the retailer loses money to fraud, who pays in the end? That’s right, we do, the consumer in higher prices to offset the losses. Retailers will never allow fraud to go unchecked with their profits taking a hit.

Another plus for the bankers is this: the new smart cards comes with the NFC technology already built in.

By now you probably already see this whole mobile payment “upgrade” is about shedding responsibility and increased profits.

So, though the NFC Technology isn’t being used as the banks wanted when it was created, it soon will be in much greater use or increased numbers globally.

Soon, retailers will be encouraging customers to make mobile payments, to use their phone to pay … see, mobile payments. And now you know why!

Mobile payments at POS terminals are set to explode from $9 billion this year to more than $27 billion in 2016.

By 2019, mobile payment volumes are expected to eclipse the $210 billion mark – a 2,233% over current levels. And that’s just in the United States.

If you are a domain investor, domains like mobile payments dot anything will come into play here.

Bank are securing Mobile Payment domains right now to launch these new tech products and to educate consumers about the technology.

JP Morgan Chase is using ChasePaymentTech dot com for this purpose. Most banks will have their own mobile payment domain to educate consumers and/or allow login into accounts protocols.

Mobile payment domains could become blogging platforms or offered to financial institutions. With the expected 200 billion plus in mobile tranactions, there’s going to be plenty of room to write about mobile payments. Mobile Payment Domains Takes on Real Meaning in 2016.

Filed Under: Mobile Payments, Banks, EMV, NFC Technology