Monday, March 19, 2012

MasterCard Survey Finds Commuters Ready to Kick Cash to the Curb in Favor of Contactless Payments


U.S. Transit Riders Estimate Saving an Hour on Weekly Commute with Simple and Convenient Tap & Go ™ Payments
PURCHASE, N.Y.--()--The simple act of paying to board mass transit can add significant stress to the daily commute. A new survey released today by MasterCard Worldwide finds that many of the top frustrations cited by U.S. commuters have to do with how they pay and that a majority recognize the benefits contactless payments can provide to improve the commuting experience.
“We are working with a number of public transportation agencies across the U.S. and around the globe to improve current ways to pay and riders in many cities, from Chicago to Philadelphia, are already benefiting from the innovation.”
The online survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of MasterCard between November 21 and December 6, 2011 among 1607 adults across seven major U.S. cities, evaluated common pain points transit riders have experienced when relying on cash to pay for their trip:
  • Nearly two-thirds of U.S. commuters who use cash for mass transit (65 percent) worry about not having enough cash on hand to pay for their trip, while more than one-third (36 percent) have actually been unable to take mass transit because they did not have enough cash on hand.
  • More than two in five U.S. commuters (44 percent) have missed a bus, train or subway while waiting in line to buy or add money onto a fare card.
  • Two-in-five riders who use cash for mass transit (42 percent) say worrying about needing correct change is one of their top frustrations when paying for their commute.
“The grind of the daily commute should not be compounded by the way you pay just to ride mass transit,” said Catherine Murchie, Senior Vice President, MasterCard Worldwide. “From our survey, we know that commuters want a better way to buy their fare and open-loop contactless payment options such as MasterCard PayPass eliminate the need to wait in line, fumble for exact change or carry multiple fare cards so that it easier to board and be on your way.”
When presented with the option to use a contactless payment option instead of cash on their daily commute, riders were clear in their desire for a better way to pay. Of those who take multiple modes of mass transit each day, three-quarters (75 percent) wish there was one payment card that could be used to access all mass transit systems near or within their local city. Two thirds of riders (66 percent) say they would be likely to use a Tap & Go form of payment to pay for mass transit if it were an option to them. Nearly half of all commuters (47 percent) say they would use their mobile phone to pay for mass transit.
Contactless Payments save Riders Time
The MasterCard survey also found that reducing transit travel time is high on U.S. commuters’ wish lists. Today, riders estimate they spend an average of 2.7 hours per work week (32 minutes per day) accessing the mass transit system. Yet, when asked about the benefits of using a Tap & Go form of payment, riders estimated they could shave nearly an hour a week (an average 11 minutes per day) from their commute.
According to the survey, there are a number of payment frustrations that contribute to current, lengthy transit travel times.
  • Nearly one third of commuters (31 percent) say they feel they spend too much time waiting in line to buy or add money to their fare card.
  • Forty-three percent feel the ticketing machines are often slow, out of order or difficult to use.
  • More than a quarter of riders (26 percent) are frustrated by the process they must go through to replace a misplaced fare card.
  • One fifth of commuters (21 percent) have been frustrated by not knowing where or how to pay in unfamiliar mass transit systems
Commuters See Clear Benefits in One, Contactless Way to Pay
Additionally, it is clear that commuters want to consolidate their mass transit tickets into one card that can be used across multiple transit systems.
  • Two-thirds of commuters surveyed (66 percent) travel by more than one mode of mass transit in a typical week and 70 percent have used mass transit in a city other than their own.
  • Nearly as many consider easier transferring between different types of mass transit (64 percent) and easier payments in unfamiliar stations (65 percent) as major benefits to a Tap & Go payment method.
  • More than half of commuters (59 percent) consider reducing lines and accelerating time through transportation centers as major benefits of Tap-&-Go, open-loop payment options.
“Open-loop, contactless payments are ideal for environments, like transit, where speed and convenience are essential,” continued Murchie. “We are working with a number of public transportation agencies across the U.S. and around the globe to improve current ways to pay and riders in many cities, from Chicago to Philadelphia, are already benefiting from the innovation.”
Whether enabled via a mobile phone, card, key fob, or other device, MasterCard PayPass offers commuters a simple, easy and convenient way to pay for their trip. Riders can simply tap their PayPass-enabled MasterCard card, phone or device on a contactless payment accepting reader to make a fare purchase.
For transit agencies, open-loop, contactless payments not only help enhance the customer experience by providing a fast, reliable and convenient payment method, but may help reduce agency operating expenses by making payment collection and back-end operations more efficient.
Survey Methodology
The MasterCard Transit Survey was conducted on behalf of MasterCard by Harris Interactive between November 21 and December 6, 2011 in three countries: United States (n=1607), Singapore (n=503) and South Korea (n=560). The U.S. data was collected among residents of seven U.S. markets: New York City, Washington D.C, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco and Baltimore. All participants were over the age of 18, employed, student or retired, traveled by mass transit at least 3-4 times per week and own at least one credit or debit card. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

VeriFone U.S. Payment Gateway Volume Hits $10 Billion


SAN JOSE, Calif.--()--VeriFone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY), today announced that U.S. transaction volume through its PAYware Connect gateway has achieved an annual rate exceeding $10 billion, a first for the mobile payments industry.
PAYware Connect’s rapid U.S. growth reflects VeriFone’s wide range of offerings to merchants of all sizes. Small merchants are selecting PAYware Mobile solutions for use with smartphones and tablets in their businesses. Larger merchants are selecting PAYware for in-the-aisle checkout and for solutions that are integrated with other retail systems.Growth in mobile payments and increasing retailer demand for cloud-based payment services is spurring increased opportunities for VeriFone’s hosted payment solution, which minimize the complexities of payment acceptance and reduces the scope of PCI compliance.
“The $10 billion milestone is an industry first, and clearly sets VeriFone well ahead of the competition,” declared VeriFone CEO Douglas Bergeron. “We expect continued great momentum in this exciting range of payment service offerings.”
VeriFone’s PAYware Connect gateway delivers cloud-based, PCI-compliant payment services and advanced capabilities such as VeriShield Total Protect end-to-end encryption security. The gateway service consolidates all types of payments processing and provides extensive reporting and analytics.
VeriFone provides payment gateway services for virtually any environment, including traditional countertop and mobile card acceptance devices, consumer facing large retail checkouts, multi-media enabled pay at the pump solutions, interactive taxicab systems and new smartphone and tablet-based solutions.

GoPayment Hits the Campaign Trail


Red or Blue, Local or Federal, Political Fundraisers Everywhere can Process Credit Card Donations Using Their Smartphone or Tablet
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--()--No cash? No check? No problem. Fundraisers everywhere in the U.S. can now maximize political donations by accepting credit cards wherever they are.
GoPayment is one of the first mobile payment offerings to provide this capability to political campaigns without requiring them to customize an existing app or create a new one. The offering also protects sensitive credit card data from the moment the card is swiped via the GoPayment card reader, which uses the latest encryption technology.Based on GoPayment’s success helping small businesses increase their sales, Intuit Inc.(Nasdaq:INTU) today announced that GoPayment, its free mobile credit card app and card reader hardware, has been enhanced for political donations. Fundraisers can now use GoPayment to process credit card donations on the most popular mobile devices while collecting the donor information often required of campaigns to be legally compliant.
“We saw a need to help fundraisers significantly increase their political donations, especially at events or when going door-to-door, when not everyone has cash or checks,” said Chris Hylen, vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Payment Solutions division. “We’ve enhanced GoPayment specifically for campaign donations. With just one swipe, fundraisers can easily increase their donations while collecting all information needed to help them meet their reporting requirements.”
GoPayment for Fundraising
GoPayment is affordable and includes a free app and multiple free card readers for staff members and volunteers at fundraising organizations. It offers competitive, pay-as-you-go pricing or a monthly plan depending on a campaign's processing needs. GoPayment is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and the most popular Android devices.
As often required by law, GoPayment helps enable fundraisers to collect donor information, such as the donor’s name, address, employer and occupation. It also enables fundraisers to add a customized legal disclaimer that appears on the GoPayment screen that donors can read and accept while donating funds.
Campaigns can also add multiple staff members or volunteers to one GoPayment account. In addition, administrators can monitor all GoPayment transactions via an online dashboard where they can track their progress, run reports, export data as well as add or remove users and set different permission levels for specific users.
For added protection and professionalism, campaign fundraisers can ask donors to authorize their transaction by signing it on the mobile device. The campaign can then send donors a text or email receipt, which may include the political campaign’s logo, donation amount and a map of where the transaction took place. The funds are then deposited into the campaign’s bank account.
In addition to using the latest encryption technology, Intuit’s card processing platforms comply with Payment Card Industry standards and GoPayment adheres to PCI rules. To learn more and sign up for GoPayment for fundraising, go to www.GoPaymentFundraising.com or e-mail GoPayment_Fundraising@intuit.com.

Blaze Mobile Awarded Another Patent for NFC Payments


BERKELEY, Calif.--()--Blaze Mobile, a leader in mobile payment and NFC solutions, has been awarded a notice of allowance for a new patent for mobile banking and payment transactions. This new patent covers any mobile banking transactions that comprise bill payment, peer-to-peer (P2P) funds transfer, funds transfer between bank accounts, between credit cards, and between bank accounts and credit cards. In all cases, the patent covers the funding of the banking transactions using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. Thus, after the deciding to perform the transaction, the customer holds their NFC-enabled device near an NFC-enabled point of service (POS) terminal, computer, keyboard or monitor to complete the transaction. Therefore, consumers can choose to pay a bill, or to send or receive a money transfer, and complete the entire process conveniently in a store, home or office. The person, or persons (as in the case of P2P transfer), receives a digital or e-receipt that is stored in the NFC component of the mobile device.
Blaze Mobile is continuing to develop solutions that offer considerable value to consumers and merchants who are increasingly conducting mobile transactions. A report by Edgar Dunn & Company (EDC) predicts that mobile contactless payments will reach $320 billion globally by 2016. The United States’ Federal Reserve Board recently released a survey showing that 20% of Americans have used mobile banking in the past year. As Michelle Fisher, CEO/Founder of Blaze Mobile explains, “our innovations have far-reaching implications for consumers and industry. Instead of entering in a long credit card number, security code, and billing information into your computer, just tap your phone. Merchants can enable customers to pay bills, purchase or pickup goods or services like prescription medicine by tapping their phone near an NFC kiosk or NFC-enabled POS. Easier, faster and more secure mobile payment options benefit all parties, and this is what we do at Blaze.”
About Blaze Mobile
Blaze Mobile develops innovative mobile commerce, health care, banking and advertising solutions that enable secure, convenient, cost-effective transactions and promotions from the mobile device. Utilizing its patented NFC and mobile technology, the Blaze Mobile product suite includes a mobile wallet and NFC-enabling payment stickers.. Blaze Mobile applications are available through Apple iTunes, T-Mobile, Getjar, and NTelos. For more information, please visit www.blazemobile.com.

INSIDE Secure and SecureKey Technologies Team to Simplify Mobile Authentication and Payments

Image representing SecureKey Technologies as d...
Image via CrunchBase

Integrated Solution Turns NFC Handsets, Laptops or Tablets into Virtual Point-of-Sale Terminals
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France & TORONTO--()--INSIDE Secure and SecureKey Technologies Inc. today announced they are working together to make mobile and online payments and other authentication transactions more convenient and secure. Going beyond using an NFC-enabled smartphone to make payments at local merchants, the combined INSIDE Secure and SecureKey solution enables a smartphone, tablet, laptop or other device to act as a secure terminal to read chip-based contactless cards for point-of-sale and other authentication applications. It will be available to device OEMs as an integral part of INSIDE Secure’s award-winning SecuRead® solution.
“The SecureKey technology we have implemented in the SecuRead module securely reads contactless card information just like a real POS terminal.”
The new solution integrates the patent-pending SecureKey technology into the INSIDE SecuRead NFC solution, available in a SecuRead version upgrade. With SecuRead and the SecureKey technology integrated into a smartphone or tablet, these devices can support strong two-factor authentication using a contactless credential on a smartphone or contactless card.
“This innovative solution is like placing an online merchant’s POS terminal in the consumer’s handset, and the merchant doesn’t even have to make any changes to their existing web site to support this,” said Charles Walton, general manager and executive vice president, NFC and secure payments at INSIDE Secure. “The SecureKey technology we have implemented in the SecuRead module securely reads contactless card information just like a real POS terminal.”
“Our SecureKey technology makes online checkout easier and more secure, and allows cardholders to finalize their checkout almost instantly with a single tap,” said Greg Wolfond, CEO at SecureKey Technologies. “The INSIDE SecuRead platform is a perfect complement to our SecureKey technology, and brings this powerful security solution out to the mainstream device manufacturer market.”
The two-factor authentication capabilities of the combined solution also make it ideal for a broad range of other online applications requiring core authentication.
About SecureKey Technologies Inc.
SecureKey develops innovative hardware and software solutions that extend the power of chip-based identity and payment credentials to online and mobile transactions. With SecureKey, financial institutions, health care providers and government organizations can offer their online customers the convenience and security of ‘tap to authenticate,’ ‘tap-to-pay,’ and other non-NFC two-factor authentication services. SecureKey is a privately held company with offices in Toronto, Ontario.
About INSIDE Secure
INSIDE Secure (NYSE Euronext Paris “INSD”) is a leading designer, developer and supplier of semiconductors, embedded software and platforms for secure transactions and digital security. INSIDE mobile NFC, secure payment and digital security products provide security for a wide range of information processing, storage and transmission applications. The company’s customers are found in a wide range of markets including mobile payment, identification documents, access control, transit, electronic device manufacturing, pay television and mobile service operators. For more information, visit www.insidesecure.com.

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