Page 1 - GS131102

November 25, 2013 • Issue 13:11:02

The competitive, diversified mobile

wallet landscape

Loop is designed to transcend technology hurdles to
broad adoption of mobile payments. The Loop platform
consists of a mobile wallet chip housed inside a fob or
mobile device peripheral that consumers purchase and
use to store information from payment and other cards.
It offers merchants a turnkey marketing tool that helps
them build and deliver specialized offers via customer
smartphones.

What sets it apart from other mobile wallets is that Loop
doesn't require merchants to make changes to their
hardware or software. Using a patented technology
called Magnetic Secure Transmission, the Loop wallet
communicates directly with mag stripe readers at
merchant checkouts, effectively fooling the readers into
operating as though mag stripe cards were being swiped.
here's a new kid on the mobile payment block. Loop aims to supplant the prevailing technologies
Called Loop, it was unveiled recently amid much underlying mobile wallets: near field communication
fanfare and talk of it being "the most accepted (NFC) and bar codes. NFC has struggled to gain traction,
T mobile wallet solution in the world." In a unique despite being favored by major mobile wallet initiatives.
twist, the developers used the crowd-funding website One reason is that merchants must make hardware and
Kickstarter to secure loan pledges of nearly $124,000 on software changes to work with NFC. Another is a lack of
a stated funding goal of $100,000 – and they raised the technology support from mobile carriers and for Apple
money in under 30 days. Inc. iPhones.
Loop's founders are entrepreneurs with successes in both The consultancy Aite Group LLC expects NFC-based
the mobile and payments arenas. Will Graylin has started wallets to take off soon as retailers make a mad rush to
five companies spanning both fields, including ROAM upgrade to contactless POS terminals. This optimism
Data Inc., a mobile POS solutions provider that he sold
to Ingenico, and WAY Systems Inc., which was sold
eventually to VeriFone Inc. Contributed articles inside by:
George Wallner was the founder and Chief Executive Brandes Elitch ........................................................ 32
Officer of terminal manufacturer Hypercom Corp., Dale S. Laszig ....................................................... 48
which was sold to VeriFone, as well. He was also an
investor in Way Systems and ROAM Data. According Jeff Fortney ........................................................... 52
to published reports, Wallner and Graylin have invested Ralph Dangelmaier ................................................ 56
about $3 million of their own money in Loop, which is Ben Golder ........................................................... 58
positioning to compete with the likes of Google Inc., Isis, Nancy Drexler ....................................................... 59
MasterCard Worldwide, Merchant Customer Exchange
(MCX), PayPal Inc. and Visa Inc. TOC on page 3

Continued on page 43