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September 12, 2016 • Issue 16:09:01
Mobile gaining ground in stores
By Ann Train Research Director at IDC Financial Insights in reference to
the Merchant Customer Exchange's now defunct CurrentC
W hile mobile implementations in retail envi- app.
ronments have yet to compel consumers to
abandon plastic or cash in significant num- Stratification of awareness within NFC-enabled stores
bers, near-term developments in mobile has not helped merchants either. Many had envisioned
technology are poised to transform a large number of Starbucks or Uber-like engagement. "You just press a
merchants and consumers into mobile-first enthusiasts. button and you can pay," said Dan Charron, Executive
Vice President, Global Business Solutions Unit at First Data
"I think we're really on the cusp of innovation," stated Tony Corp. "I call it Uber a burrito or Uber for your gas, where
Rose, Director of Product Management: Mobile, at Vantiv you can turn on the gas pump." However, most merchants
Inc. "The two- to five-year horizon gets really exciting." have been unable to turn this vision into reality.
With the U.S. EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa)
implementation largely underway, stakeholders can now In the new ecosystem, processors and acquirers play
focus on near field communication (NFC) certification and a central role as grand collaborators between mobile
other mobile initiatives. wallet providers, banks and retailers. It's an enormous
undertaking, and unifying competing elements to
Not every decision by well-intentioned parties will leverage the unique attributes of each presents inescapable
pan out. Using EMV as an example, the decision to use challenges.
signature over PIN could prove shortsighted. "When you
start looking at the same thing on the mobile payment side, "Within that triumvirate of people, the retailers, banks
decisions made by a merchant consortium to put out their and major technology companies, everybody has got a
own mobile wallet makes perfect sense until you then way to pay," Charron said. "Our job as a company is to
realize it's a lot harder than it looks," said James Wester, enable that for our customers. Then you go all the way
down to smaller businesses and the ability for people, via
their phones, to order ahead for delivery or pickup. We're
across that entire spectrum of mobile acceptance, mobile
pay, mobile POS and mobile loyalty."
Contributed articles inside by:
Jeffrey W. Brown....................................................................................24
John Tucker.............................................................................................. 41
Aaron Nasseh..........................................................................................46
Jeff Fortney..............................................................................................48
Adam Atlas...............................................................................................50
Steven Feldshuh....................................................................................54
TOC on page 3
Continued on page 38
