mPayment Developments Reach the German Market
KEY FACTS
-
Products and services in the field of mobile payment are continually being developed
-
MasterCard certifies more NFC-smartphones
-
Samsung introduces Galaxy S III NFC capability
-
Telekom and Sprint partner with BOKU
-
LBB and MasterCard enable NFC-wallet payments at Aral stations
-
SumUp and Zenpay/payleven as Square clone in Germany
-
orderbird, OrdiFy and Waitless as restaurant solutions
REPORT
Source: Orderbird
Developments in the field of mobile payments are forging ahead. Credit card organizations, mobile phone manufacturers, wireless carriers, banks, and start-ups are all presenting new productions, partially under the umbrella of new collaborations. These players are increasingly addressing the European and German markets.
Most recently, MasterCard certified another 17 smartphones from different manufacturers, which customers can now use for NFC payments. In order to draw customers’ attention to this payment option, MasterCard has introduced the PayPass-Ready brand, which smartphone manufacturers can use to mark these phones as being NFC-capable. Additionally, Samsung introduced its Galaxy S III, just in time for customers to use it to pay via NFC at the Summer Olympic Games in London.
BOKU, a US provider of online and mobile payment platforms for consumers, merchants, and wireless carriers, has announced new collaborative deals with Sprint in the US and Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Telekom is providing its more than 34 million customers in Germany with the opportunity to pay via their mobile phone bill. The customers give their telephone number at the online check-out, confirm the purchase via text message, and pay via their mobile phone bill. This simplifies the purchasing process for customers, while providing online merchants with access to more customers, including those who do not possess debit or credit cards
LBB and MasterCard have worked together to present an NFC payment option at Aral gas stations. In order to make this possible, LBB has combined NFC functions with a wallet. A microSD card, held in a chassis in the phone, makes a smartphone capable of NFC payments and stores a customer’s credit card details. The smartphone turns into a credit card, allowing customers to make payments of up to 25 EUR without authorization, and higher payments via password authorization.
In the segment of debit and credit card-linked mobile payments, SumUp and Zenpay/payleven, two German clones of Square, are gaining attention. Details are not yet known, but the firms are planning to create a hardware and app solution, similar to the one provided by Square. SumUp, whose team member Daniel Klein stands out due to his history as co-founder of Moneybookers, seems to be further along in its product development than Zenpay/payleven. But Zenpay/payleven‘s work is being accelerated by Rocket Internet, a Berlin incubator led by Oliver Samwer.
Further solutions for mobile payment are on offer within the restaurant industry. In Germany, three app-based cashier systems, orderbird, OrdiFy and Waitless, are in competition with one another. Restaurant goers can use their smartphones to view menus, order food, and pay for their meals. These products offer restaurant owners a complete cashier system that takes over the communication between waiters, guests and kitchen; prints bills; and creates graphics of orders and revenue. Alternative Strategic Investment, the equity firm of AWD founder Carsten Maschmeyer, recently purchased 30% of orderbird for 2.4 million EUR.
In general, these facts show that the developments within the field of mobile payment options are taking shape and that new business areas are being tapped using special solutions. More NFC smartphones are hitting the market, while wireless carriers and banks are presenting their own wallet solutions in collaboration with software providers. Successful innovations are being copied and accessed for further markets, and sector-specific, comprehensive solutions are being developed in certain segments.
SOURCES
MasterCard NFC-Certificates
Samsung Galaxy S III
BOKU – Sprint – Deutsche Telekom
LBB – MasterCard – Aral
SumUp, Zenpay/payleven
http://www.deutsche-startups.de/2012/04/19/sumup-zenpay-square/
http://www.deutsche-startups.de/?p=68576
orderbird, OrdiFy, Waitless
http://www.deutsche-startups.de/2012/05/01/orderbird-alstin-maschmeyer/
Meet our authors
Expert En - Artur Burgardt
Artur Burgardt is Managing Partner at CORE. He focuses, among other things, on the conceptual design and implementation of digital products. His focus is on identity management, innovative payment ...
Read moreArtur Burgardt is Managing Partner at CORE. He focuses, among other things, on the conceptual design and implementation of digital products. His focus is on identity management, innovative payment and banking products, modern technologies / technical standards, architecture conceptualisation and their use in complex heterogeneous system environments.
Read less
