2012 Report Card: Public Transport; A+, Retailers; C- (could do better). Your Contactless Intelligence Weekly News Feed

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Dear Readers,

At the end of a long year that promised a lot for contactless and NFC payments and didn't always deliver, at least someone got it right. I am talking about Transport for London (TfL) and the news that - from last week - you can use your contactless card to pay on London's buses. This could be the push forward that everyone needed to start using their contactless cards in greater abundance.

If awareness of contactless payments is getting higher, that's good news. But beyond the initial stage of customer awareness and interaction lies 'favourability', followed by 'consideration' before customers finally take 'action', followed by the all important stage of 'advocacy'. With TfL now accepting payment by contactless cards on their buses, this really allows millions of Londoners (and visitors - hopefully) to use their contactless credit cards in a purchasing scenario that will once more move contactless payments along the road to mass acceptance. As one would expect, the announcement was welcomed by the major players in the industry and rightfully so! Well done, Transport for London, for once again showing the way forward.

I say this, not because I am a big public transport fan (don't get me wrong - I've taken a bus or two in my time - they even gave me a little piece of paper as a souvenir), but because two reports came out last week that, if they could, would wag a finger at retailers for not doing enough to get people to adopt the contactless payment option. The first report from eDigitalResearch says that consumer awareness surrounding contactless mobile payments is on the rise. One third (33%) of all consumers now claim to have seen a contactless mobile payment point, a figure which has doubled since the first Mobile Payment Index from eDigitalResearch back in May 2012. However, Derek Eccleston, Head of Research at eDigitalResearch, comments, “Our results show that, whilst awareness of contactless mobile payments is on the increase, one third (30%) of the consumer that we surveyed don’t think that there are any benefits to the technology whatsoever. For example, whilst you can use the technology to swiftly pay for goods in coffee shops, customers still need to wait exactly the same amount of time for the coffee and the end result. It is essential that retailers, handset manufacturers, banks and technology provider’s work together to communicate benefits better to potential users and quash growing concerns amongst consumers”.

The second report came from ICM Research highlighting consumer awareness but low usage of the technology. Richard Moller of ICM’s retail team said: “Retailer investment in contactless payment is essential to drive take up because consumer awareness and appetite already exist. More than half of the stores we visited didn’t even take contactless payment. In-store promotion is also vital. Of the 11 stores we visited with contactless payment technology, only three were actively promoting it, and only two – Marks & Spencer and EAT – had signage at checkouts. It is important that staff receive training too. Half of the sales assistants we spoke to in-store didn’t know if the shop took contactless payments, and over a quarter gave out the wrong information on payment limits.” (You can read the whole article here). It seems silly that, as the build up to Christmas continues, the need for shorter queues is of paramount importance. Perhaps retailers could learn a little from what is happening 'On The Buses'? (you had to have been watching TV in the UK in the 1970's to get that last get that last remark).

But all in all, it's been a year that started in a fury of hype and hope for contactless and NFC, whipped itself up further with the build up to the Olympics and then settled down as reality met expectations and reality won. Contactless and mobile payments will happen, but 2012 wasn't the year for the breakthrough. Like all things that need to permeate through society, this needs time, perseverance and commitment. Perhaps, retail was never the answer, perhaps public transport was, and will remain, the very best educator of contactless and NFC technology in our society. Let's see what 2013 hold for the industry.

That's my final editorial for Contactless Intelligence this year. We do have one more week to go in the year but I doubt if anyone will read our newsletter on Christmas Eve. I'll be honest, some weeks the editorial writes itself, some weeks it's pure blood, sweat and tears (not mine). However, I hope you feel that we have touched upon some salient points in the industry and at the very least have acted as a spring board to your week. We would like to wish our readers a Merry Christmas and if you would like to drop into Contactless Intelligence, this lady has a small message for you all.

And finally - don't forget, the December Intelligence is still live until Christmas day, so do yourself a favour and click on this link, read a text, answer 5 questions, press the send button, and you could win a SAMSUNG Galaxy SIII. Now wouldn't that be worth coming back to in January?

Until the 7th January.

Happy Holidays.

Regards,

Steve Atkins

Contactless Intelligence

This week on C-ITV

It's begun. The final INTELLIGENCE of 2012. Win a Galaxy SIII! http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-18V

SumUp drives Taxi.de app payments http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-19f

Tyfone, In-Q-Tel to Bring Mobile Security in Cloud and NFC Transactions for U.S. Government http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-196

MoSoCo Poland Chooses Sequent for NFC Mobile Technology Platform and Services http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-194

Contactless payment awareness getting better but retailers are letting the side down. http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-18Z

Cirque claims 'first to demonstrate secure touch screen with integrated NFC' http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-19x

Giesecke & Devrient chosen by CIBC as Trusted Service Manager for mobile payments in Canada http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-19K

MasterCard to stop people wasting a day a year queuing to buy bus tickets http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-19F

allpay hits the mark for MasterCard PayPass Programmes http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-19P

Payments & m-Commerce

Australia: 'Tap and go' payment system makes credit card fraud easier, police warn http://bit.ly/YT5BdK

South Africa: Mobile money needs closer scrutiny http://bit.ly/YT65R1

Square Wallet offers gift cards with Passbook integration http://bit.ly/YT5UFj

Cardfree Raises $10 Million to Enter the Crowded Mobile Payments Business http://dthin.gs/Ud1SzV

Verizon explains lack of Google Wallet in letter to FCC complainer http://bit.ly/Ud2dTm

China Mobile, China UnionPay drive m-commerce in Chengdu http://zd.net/Ud29Dc

Isis still has room to grow before finding place in payments landscape http://bit.ly/Ud23ez

Bhutan Telecom to launch mobile wallet service http://bit.ly/TUliwn

Two more really smart phones join the Touch2Pay family http://bit.ly/TUlgo6

VeriFone Blankets Las Vegas Taxis with Payment and Media http://bit.ly/TUlStT

Mobile payments through smartphones to reach $1.3 trillion by 2017 http://bit.ly/TUlOud

Watching VeriFone as Mobile Payments Explode http://onforb.es/TW1tEO

Axfood, Seamless complete m-payment deployment across Sweden http://bit.ly/TW2pcn

Portugal's SIBS prepares NFC pilot http://bit.ly/TW1uII

Three could join mobile payments venture Weve http://bit.ly/TW2v3H

MasterCard and Wallet Software Provider C-SAM Announce Partnership, Investment http://bit.ly/TW2rkq

New Zealand: Consumer-led demand for contactless technology http://bit.ly/TW2AnQ

China: Mobile payment: a boon for mass consumption http://bit.ly/SVt5ss

Which will come first: mobile payments or flying cars? http://bit.ly/SVt3Rw

NFC & Mobile

Chinese carriers’ NFC plans emerge http://bit.ly/YT6gvK

Christmas app conjures up Santa with an NFC tap http://bit.ly/YT6i6P

UK catalogue giant Shop Direct tests NFC shopping http://bit.ly/TUlpbc

Broadcom Launches Industry's First Certified NFC Quad-combo Wireless Connectivity Solution http://bit.ly/TUtTiz

Smartphone Chip Supplier Broadcom Introduces First Combo Wireless Chip with NFC http://bit.ly/TUtOeG

Sony signs agreement with Watchdata in bid to bring SIM-based NFC solutions to more mobile devices http://tnw.co/SVtXxa

Transportation, Ticketing, Access, Security & Loyalty

Brands Connect with NFC http://bit.ly/TW1hp2

London buses to start accepting contactless bank cards http://bit.ly/RX2uhK

London Bus Riders Can Tap Bank Cards to Pay Fares; NFC Acceptance Unlikely for Now http://bit.ly/SVtv1Y

SmartDebit respond to TfL confirmation of NFC payments to go live on London buses http://bit.ly/SVtriV

Seven in ten London public transport users welcome an alternative to complement Oyster and cash http://bit.ly/SVtpaS

Savvy shoppers drive to cash in on loyalty cards points costs Nectar an extra £52m http://bit.ly/YT5Fu0

Oyster card celebrates 150th Tube anniversary http://bbc.in/YT5SgH

Tag Supplier Enables Data Analytics with New Content Management Platform http://bit.ly/YT6cMu

Myki card mess continues as operator Kamco threatens legal action to recoup millions of losses http://bit.ly/Ud1Isp

Transport for London to Begin Open-Loop Fare Collection This Week http://bit.ly/Ud1Yrw

Other News & Opinion Articles

Algeria to launch 3G, m-payment in Q1 2013 - minister http://bit.ly/TW1bhk

RIM’S new BlackBerry 10 smartphone leaked in video walkthrough [VIDEO] http://bit.ly/TW1rNj

Turkcell taps Timwe http://bit.ly/TW1o3U

Merchant Customer Exchange hires lobbyist to promote 'Contactless' payment system http://bit.ly/SVtmMc

CorFire Integrates PayPal to Enhance Mobile Commerce Services for Variety of Merchants and their Customers http://bit.ly/SVtdIr

‘European Square’ iZettle Expands To Spain, Taking Total Markets To Seven http://tcrn.ch/SVt9Zh

VeriFone Shifting Mobile Payments Strategy to Resales http://buswk.co/SVtGub

Kiwi Retailers Recognising Benefits of PayPass ‘Tap & Go’ http://bit.ly/SVtDi1

allpay hits the mark for MasterCard PayPass Programmes http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-19P

Contactless payment awareness getting better but retailers are letting the side down

Christmas is a time for giving – or rather ‘gifting’ – if we want to be cynical. Whatever the case, there is a lot riding on this years Christmas retail numbers as they will be a key indicator for the UK’s economic position. It’s not only the UK Government that is waiting on the numbers – other interested parties are too – namely those parties involved in the contactless payment industry. Two reports that have come out recently point to some positives, but at least one comes with a cautionary warning about the future of contactless payment adoption.

First up is a report out from eDigitalResearch. They say that consumer awareness surrounding contactless mobile payments is on the rise. One third (33%) of all consumers now claim to have seen a contactless mobile payment point, a figure which has doubled since the first Mobile Payment Index from eDigitalResearch back in May 2012.

The report also found that that awareness of NFC enabled devices has also doubled over the past six months, with around 8% of the UK population now aware that they own a contactless mobile payment ready smartphone.

Over half (52%) of those that already have the technology enabled on their smartphone device have already used contactless mobile payments to make a purchase; and 3 in 4 of these were repeat users, suggesting that once consumers use the technology, they are likely to return and use it again.

However, 2012 was thought by many to be the ‘year of NFC’ when everything would come together and consumers would adopt the technology in their droves but eDigital Research says that the lack of uptake by handset manufacturers and retailers has meant that adoption rates have been lower than expected.

(cont. after banner)

Security concerns, fraud and scepticism surrounding technical issues are still the main fundamental consumer issues surrounding contactless mobile payments and unless more can be done to reassure potential contactless mobile payment users, it is likely to dampen the growth of contactless mobile payment technology in the UK.

Derek Eccleston, Head of Research at eDigitalResearch, comments, “Our results show that, whilst awareness of contactless mobile payments is on the increase, one third (30%) of the consumers that we surveyed don’t think that there are any benefits to the technology whatsoever. For example, whilst you can use the technology to swiftly pay for goods in coffee shops, customers still need to wait exactly the same amount of time for the coffee and the end result. We’re finding that users of the technology believe that it quicker, easier and more convenient and are most likely to use it at supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, where queuing times can often exceed expectations. It is essential that retailers, handset manufacturers, banks and technology provider’s work together to communicate these benefits better to potential users and quash growing concerns amongst consumers”.

Click to continue reading

MasterCard to stop people wasting a day a year queuing to buy bus tickets

On the day that contactless bank card travel is launched on London’s buses, research from MasterCard has revealed that every commuter wastes an entire day every year queuing to buy their tickets either as they board a bus or prior to travel.

According to the research, one in ten passengers have missed a bus because they didn’t have the right change or were queuing to buy a ticket. MasterCard says that for users of PayPass , this problem is now a thing of the past. It is a much bigger issue than you might think with 30 per cent of London bus journeys still made with cash or a paper ticket. Around 36,000 people per day board a bus and find they have insufficient Oyster PAYG balance for their journey. Not only that, but last year around 500 bus passengers a day boarded a bus without the correct change for their fare (although were allowed to travel with an Unpaid Fare Notice requiring them to pay later).

Rather than scrambling for the correct change, MasterCard are quick to point out that these customers will be able to use their contactless payment card to pay their fare and carry on their journey.

From last week, bus passengers were able to pay for their journey with a contactless MasterCard or Maestro card rather than requiring the right change, or making sure their Oyster card is topped up.

Click to continue reading

Our mailing address is:
Krowne Communications, Saechsische Str. 6, 10707 Berlin, Germany
Copyright (C) 2012 Krowne Communications. All rights reserved.

Followus on: Twitter : Facebook : LinkedIn Group

Sent to <<Email Address>> — why did I get this?
unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences
Krowne Communications · Krowne Communications GmbH · Schlueterstrasse. 37 · Berlin 10629

Latest Images

Trending Articles

Latest Images