Tag: samsung

Google’s mobile payments service could launch in a matter of days

| August 27, 2015

Android Pay may be on the way sooner than expected

Google may have plans to launch its new mobile payments service, Android Pay, sooner than expected. According to a notice sent to some of Android Pay’s retail partners, such as McDonald’s, employees are being trained to understand what mobile payments are and how to assist customers making such transactions. These notices suggest that Android Pay will actually become available on August 26 or very shortly thereafter, but there is no telling whether or not Google’s new service will find success.

Google has had trouble with mobile payments in the past

Google already has a position in the mobile payments market, having launched its first platform, Google Wallet, some years ago. The Wallet platform experienced a turbulent launch, with some security issues leaving consumers wary of the concept of mobile transactions. Google has been working to improve the Wallet service and it has begun to generate momentum among consumers, but the company may be showing more priority for Android Pay in the future. Google does not have plans to kill its Wallet service, however, and both services are likely to work alongside one another.

Android Pay already has significant support

Google Mobile PaymentsAndroid Pay already has significant support in many parts of the United States. Once launched, the service will be accepted in more than 700,000 stores throughout the country. Transactions and financial information will be protected by biometric technology, with a user’s fingerprint serving as the key that unlocks the mobile payments service.

Google will have to fight Apple and Samsung in order to find success in the mobile payments field

Google will be competing directly with both Samsung and Apple, both of whom have their own mobile payments services. Apple has, perhaps, established a more formidable foothold in the market, as its payment service was launched last year and has already attracted significant consumer support. Apple plans to launch its service in the United Kingdom in the near future. Samsung is currently testing its own payment service in South Korea, with plans to launch the service at some point later this year.

Apple faces challenges in Australia’s mobile payments market

| August 20, 2015

Banks may have serious concerns regarding Apple’s mobile payments service

Some of Australia’s major banks may have a problem with Apple and its new mobile payments service. According to a report from the Financial Review, banks have taken issue with the interchange fees associated with Apple, and if the problem persists, banks may begin looking for alternatives to Apple Pay, which are becoming more plentiful with each passing month. With Samsung and Google launching its own mobile payments services, Apple may have to work to satisfy banks in order to maintain its position in the mobile market.

Banks have no wish to provide Apple with significant fees on transactions being made

The crux of the issue between Apple and Australia’s major banks is $2 billion in interchange fees that the banks make every year. In the United States, it is estimated that Apple earns 15 cents for every $100 that is spent through Apple Pay. In Australia, however, banks are not willing to provide Apple with the cut of the fees that it is asking for. If this problem continues, Apple may have trouble establishing an effective foothold in the Australian market, where consumers are becoming very interested in mobile payments.

Australian banks may be ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile payments

Apple Australia mobile paymentsAccording to Ian Narev, CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Apple Pay may face significant challenges in the country due to the existence of other mobile payments products. Narev suggests that many Australian banks are far ahead of others in the world when it comes to mobile payments services. As far as Apple Pay is concerned, there are other services in the country that have the same functionality as Apple’s service that have been available to consumers for 18 months or more.

Banks want Apple to help support the development of a new payments infrastructure

One of the major concerns that banks have concerning Apple Pay in Australia is that the Reserve Bank of Australia is forcing the country’s banks to help cover the cost of development a real-time payments infrastructure. Banks do not want Apple to benefit from the development of this infrastructure without investing into its establishment itself.