Ticket Service Company, Eventbrite, Launches Credit-Card Reader

By Pui-Wing Tam - Wall Street Journal

The Wall St. Journal is reporting that online ticket start-up Eventbrite Inc. is following eBay Inc.’s PayPal with the introduction of its own credit-card reader.

Eventbrite Inc.

Eventbrite’s new card reader can be plugged into an iPhone or iPad. The device allows people to accept payment for tickets at the door of an event.

According to WSJ, 

San Francisco-based Eventbrite, which enables people to plan and sell tickets online to events, on Wednesday will launch a card reader that can be plugged into an iPhone or iPad. The device allows people to accept payment for tickets at the door of an event, a market that Eventbrite so far has had little access to. The card reader, dubbed At The Door, costs $10 but that amount will be reimbursed in the user’s Eventbrite account.  Kevin Hartz, Eventbrite’s CEO, said the device and its accompanying software create a “mobile box office.” He adds that the company plans to promote the device with current customers but also use it to pull in new customers.

Related articles

• Ticket Service Eventbrite Launches Credit-Card Reader (blogs.wsj.com)

Finalists Unveiled for the Sixth Annual RFID Journal Awards

RFID Journal has announced the finalists for its 2012 RFID Journal Awards, including Best RFID Implementation, Most Innovative Use of RFID, Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service, Best in Show, Special Achievement, the RFID Green Award and a new award for Best RFID Thesis. The winners will be revealed at RFID Journal LIVE! 2012, being held in Orlando, Fla., on Apr. 3-5.

RFID Journal, the leading source of news and in-depth information regarding radio frequency identification and its many business applications, has unveiled the finalists for its 2012 RFID Journal Awards. The winners will be announced at RFID Journal LIVE! 2012, the company's 10th annual conference and exhibition, to be held at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resort, in Orlando, Fla., on Apr. 3-5, 2012. Each end user that wins an award will be invited to present its case study at the event.

"Each year, the submissions get better and better, so it's no surprise that this year's entries covered some truly impressive RFID deployments," said Mark Roberti, RFID Journal's founder and editor. "Attendees at LIVE! 2012 will benefit from hearing the winners present their stories live on stage, and will be able to view some of the new products featured in our Best in Show category."

End-user companies were nominated in four categories:

Best RFID Implementation: 

•     Bell Helicopter Textron, for a warehouse-management system that uses RFID to track parts shipped from a central warehouse to several production facilities
•     Cisco Systems, for an RFID solution that allows the company to track IT assets across all of its facilities worldwide, and to have real-time visibility into their locations
•     V.M. Salgaocar & Bro. Pvt. Ltd., for an RFID system that captures, monitors and records trips made by trucks hired to transport ore from mines to two processing plants

Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service: 

•     Gates Rubber Hoses, for an RFID-enabled service called SENTRY that automatically determines and tracks hose life so that hydraulic assemblies can be replaced prior to a possible failure
•     Intel Corp., for a system of linking passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags to Intel processors, thereby enabling new features and capabilities for computers, tablets and other electronic devices
•     Speedy, for an RFID-enabled pod that allows construction and industrial-services firms to efficiently track and manage tools at remote locations

Most Innovative Use of RFID: 

•     Animal Performance, for an RFID system for tracking animals in real time, to determine their level of activity and use the collected data for various conservation, research, educational and visitor-experience purposes
•     BP International, for an RFID-based control-of-work solution that makes refinery "isolation" work safer and more efficient, and that maintains accurate records updated in near-real time
•     Village of Thiensville, for an underground utility asset-location and -identification system that allows the village to locate buried pipes and cables

RFID Green Award: 

•     City of Dayton, for its use of RFID-enabled recycling totes that boosted participation in a recycling program by 40 percent
•     HP Brazil, for an RFID-enabled system of tracking the recycling of the company's printers
•     Wild AG, for an RFID-enabled system that could improve wildlife research and minimize crop damage

Special Achievement: 

•     Bill Hardgrave, the dean of Auburn University's College of Business, and the founder of the University of Arkansas' RFID Research Center, for his pioneering research on the real-world impact that RFID can have on retailing
•     Larry Arnstein, Impinj's VP of business development, Ken Traub, a consultant for GS1 US, and Gena Morgan, GS1 US' program manager, for their work on the GS1 Tag Application, Identification and Serialization (TAIS) subcommittee, which was tasked with creating serialization standards that would control the behavior of all stakeholders in order to eliminate the risk posed by the mere possibility of the creation of duplicate serial numbers
•     Ian Robertson, EPCglobal's former industry development director, and the author of Improving Supply Chains Using RFID & Standards, for his work to increase the understanding of RFID's business benefits and the visibility it creates

This year, RFID Journal introduced a new award for the Best RFID Thesis, recognizing students performing outstanding work in the academic field. The finalists for 2012 are:

•     Farhan Manzoor, of the National University of Ireland's University College Cork, for his thesis, "Do You Have Green Lights to Go?"
•     Cecilia Occhiuzzi, of the University of Roma Tor Vergata, for her thesis, "Wearable and Implantable RFID Technology for Pervasive Healthcare: Human Identification and Sensing"
•     Qudoos Yousuf, of Leeds Metropolitan University, for his thesis, "RFID Tag Location and Tag Anti-Collision Using Spread Spectrum Technique"

In addition, ten technology providers were nominated for the Best in Show award, which will be given to the best new product being exhibited at this year's LIVE! event. The finalists are:

•     Austriamicrosystems, for its AS3922 active Near Field Communication (NFC) booster, which enables NFC systems to be used in ultra-small form factors, such as microSD and SIM cards
•     Convergent Systems Ltd., for its CS506 plug-in module for RFID handheld readers, which allows the handheld itself to be location-tracked via a real-time location system
•     Cubic Global Tracking Solutions, for its Yard Management Solution (YMS), which employs a unique yard-management device called the Mesh Asset Tag, as well as the company's mist Mesh Network Technology
•     Impinj, for its Monza Self-Serialization method, which offers brand owners the flexibility to decide when, where and how they manage the item-level tagging processes across their global supply chain
•     Intelleflex, for its CMR-6100 multi-protocol reader, equipped with integrated GSM, GPRS and SMS cellular communication
•     NXP Semiconductors, for its UCODE I2C Connected UHF tag, which links directly to the microprocessor of a tablet, computer or other device, enabling new capabilities and functionality
•     Omni-ID, for its Visual Tag System, which displays readable information about moving assets in real time
•     Seeonic, for its SightWare electronics module with firmware installed, designed to automatically capture RFID tags for consumer products within a fixture, as well as for its Seeniq server, which allows authorized personnel to access dashboards to view and monitor real-time inventory and decision support recommendations for replenishment via a Web browser
•     STid, for its SolarGuard standalone, solar- and battery-power RFID terminal that can withstand harsh environments
•     Xerafy, for its XS Dot and XS Dash small-form-factor on-metal tags

These awards are given in recognition of excellence in the RFID industry. "Each year, we see a growing number of impressive implementations and exciting new products," Roberti stated. "I'm pleased that we are able to shine a light on some of the amazing things being achieved in the industry."

In addition to the RFID Journal Awards, LIVE! 2012 will also feature eight industry-specific and how-to conference tracks, eight in-depth preconference seminars and workshops, two co-located events, fast-track training, and more than 200 exhibitors showcasing the latest RFID products and solutions. For additional information regarding the conference and its co-located events, please visit http://www.rfidjournalevents.com/live.

Contactless Intelligence announces finalists for 2012 Contactless & Mobile Awards

Diversity of nominations and finalists demonstrates global growth for contactless and NFC.

The global appetite for contactless technologies shows no sign of abating as Contactless Intelligence's 2012 Contactless & Mobile Awards (formally known as the Contactless Monkey Awards) honours achievements across a wide range of sectors and countries throughout Europe and further afield on the 26th April at an awards dinner in London.

Steve Atkins, CEO of Krowne Communications, the company behind Contactless Intelligence, said. "This year we have changed the categories slightly to reflect the growing spectrum of uses and implementations of contactless and NFC technology as you would expect from such a dynamic industry. The quality and quantity of entries reflect this dynamism. Narrowing the entries down to four finalists per category was very difficult". Atkins continued, "Now the really hard part is choosing a winner for each category."

Following are the categories and the finalists;

Competitive Advantage.
Narian Technologies - Narian NFC service (US/Global)
CocaCola - Contactless payment in mainstream vending (UK)
Impark - Contactless parking (Canada)
Proxama - MasterCard Mobile Reference Kit (Global)

Transportation and Ticketing.
Banca Commerciala Romana - Zambet BCR: contactless debit card with transport app (Romania)
City of Wrocklaw - Wrocklaw Urban card (Poland)
VDV - eTicket Germany: an interoperable e-ticket application for public transport (Germany)
NXP - Istanbulkart (Turkey)

Mobile Payment Application of the Year.
Tagattitude - TagPay mobile money application (Africa)
Merchant360 - PatientID+: combined medical and payment NFC solution (USA)
Boku - BOKU Accounts Platform (US/Global)
Google - Google Wallet (US/Global)

Contactless / NFC Innovation of the Year.
DeviceFidelity - In2Pay microSD solution for NFC (US/Global)
Qolpac - NFC and epackaging for medication (Europe)
eProvenance - NFC solution for monitoring wine (France/US)
AQ Corporation - NFC Active tag solution for customized mobile advertisements using digital signage (Korea)

Best Customer Experience.
Clinton Cards - Rollout of NFC payment acceptance throughout all stores (UK)
Garanti Bank - "MONEY" card: the payment and loyalty card for Migros supermarkets (Turkey)
Openways - NFC room keys for Hotel Chains (Scandinavia)
LAKS - "Watch2Pay": contactless payment using a watch (Hungary)

Loyalty.
Kadona - NFC Service Platform for retailer BIPA (Austria)
Adelya - "Carte Magique": Loyalty card for Nice residents (France)
K-Plus - K-Plussa card for use in the K-Group of stores (Finland)
SAS - "SAS Smart Pass": NFC solution for frequent flyers (Sweden)

Public Domain.
Connecthings - "Mobulles Paris": Smart Mailbox Implementation (France)
WhileOnTheMove - "Daisy": NFC enabled mobile solution for day cares, pre-schools and schools (Finland)
Smartran - "Active Points": residents loyalty programme for leisure services (UK)
Fjord Nordics - World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 mobile application (Finland)

Best Marketing Campaign using Contactless / NFC Technology.
EAT - "Quick Tap Treats": UK's first nationwide NFC retail loyalty programme (UK)
Horizon Media Agency - Halls OOH (Out Of Home) campaign in Chicago (US)
VOX Cinemas - Cinema Voucher Campaign (Dubai)
GO Outdoors - iPhone Discount Card App (UK)

Best Contactless / NFC Infrastructure.
ViVOtech - Single-tap point-of-sale (POS) transaction (Global)
Greggs/Spire Payments - The largest payment deployment (retail) by number of POS in Europe to date (UK)
VeriFone - VeriFone Taxi System in London (UK)
Proxama - Touchpoint platform (Global)

Contactless / NFC Eco-System.
Connecthings - Large-scale deployment of contactless/NFC mobile services (Europe)
Glodyne Technoserve - "e-Shakti card": ID and banking solution in Bahir (India)
Absa Bank - First NFC trial in S. Africa with EMV on handset (South Africa)
Mokipay - NFC based Mobile payment and loyalty platform (Lithuania)

There are also two further awards that Visa Europe will present on 26th April, where only the winners are announced; “The Visa payWave award for Business Leader of the Year” and “The Visa payWave award for Best Contactless Awareness and Education Campaign”.

“We are very pleased to be sponsoring the Contactless and Mobile Awards again in 2012. The increasing number and quality of nominations over the last five years is a great reflection of the growth in the market place. There are now more than 31 million Visa contactless cards in Europe, and an expectation that by the end of 2012 that number will be in excess of 50 million. The acceptance side is also set for rapid growth through 2012, with plans from tier 1 retailers set to push the number of terminals by 50% over the course of the year." said Mark Austin, Head of Contactless at Visa Europe (Platinum Sponsors of the CMAs).

The winners of each categories will be announced at a Gala Dinner award ceremony on the 26th April at the London Hilton Tower Bridge Hotel, London, England.
Details about the Finalists, CMAs and how to attend the ceremony can be found athttp://www.contactlessintelligence.com.

iGR Forecasts 97.5 Wireless Connections for Every 100 People Globally in 2016

SOURCE: iGR

March 20, 2012 06:00 ET

New Research From iGR Shows Mobile Penetration Growth by Region and Technology Over the Next Five Years

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Mar 20, 2012) - Worldwide wireless connections are growing briskly and will surpass 6 billion in 2013 to reach 7.2 billion in 2016. iGR expects that the global wireless penetration rate will rise at an annually compounded rate of 4.8 percent over the next five years from 77 percent in 2011 to 97.4 percent in 2016. The compounded annual growth rate of LTE connections between 2011 and 2016 is forecast to reach over 139 percent.

A new report from iGR, Global Connections Forecast 2011-2016, provides an overview of the worldwide mobile connection market as well as detailed information on the various regions around the globe. These top‐level forecasts alone show how people the world over increasingly prefer mobile devices as their main voice and data communications tool. In some regions, a mobile phone / smartphone may be the user's only connection to the Internet.

Note that this study forecasts mobile connections. Connections can be for many types of mobile devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, mobile hotspots, portable modems, and embedded modems. There are more connections than there are actual people or subscribers because some people have more than one mobile device and/or more than one subscription to a wireless service. For example, a smartphone user in a developed region may also carry a tablet with a 3G/4G connection.

"With more and more people using multiple mobile devices, simply counting subscribers and end users is no longer sufficient," said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless & mobile industry. "Just ten years ago, it was inconceivable that there would be more than 7 billion mobile connections in the world. Our latest study shows that in the next few years, on average, there will be 97 mobile connections for every 100 people in the world."

Aside from the raw increase in the number of connections, the other major change over the forecast period is the shift from 2G to 3G -- and, toward the end of the forecast, to 4G. For example, as 2G connections decline over the next 5 years, 3G connections will become predominant, rising to make up 67 percent of all connections in 2015. Fourth generation technologies -- primarily LTE -- are still in their early stages, but will see drastic growth and reach 685 million connections in 2016.

iGR's new market research report, Global Mobile Connections Forecast, 2011 - 2016, looks at the world's mobile connection data holistically and addresses the following questions:

• How many wireless connections are there globally and in each major geographic region?
• What is the split of those connections by technology type -- both air interface and generation?
• What are the key connection-related trends by technology and region?

Data and forecasts are included for North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East and Africa. Network technologies included in the report are CDMA 1x, EV-DO and Rev A, LTE, WiMAX, GSM/GPRS, UMTS, HSPA/HSPA+ and iDEN.

The new report can be purchased and downloaded directly from iGR's website, providing immediate access to a digital copy of the research. Alternatively, contact Amanda Louie at (512) 554-1701 or at Amandal@iGR-inc.com for additional details on this report as well as information on theWireless and Mobile Landscape advisory service.

Global Mobile Connections Forecast, 2011 - 2016:https://igr-inc.com/Advisory_And_Subscription_Services/Wireless_And_Mobile_Landscape/global_mobile_connections_forecast_2016.asp

Wireless and Mobile Landscape Research Advisory and Subscription Service:https://igr-inc.com/Advisory_And_Subscription_Services/Wireless_And_Mobile_Landscape/

Shift4 Joins Microsoft Partner Network

SOURCE: Shift4 Corporation

March 20, 2012 13:26 ET

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - Mar 20, 2012) - Shift4 Corporation, the world's largest independent payment gateway, today announces their membership in the Microsoft Partner Network and their status as a Microsoft Dynamics ERP Partner.

"We're excited to gain this recognition and official status for our integration to Microsoft Dynamics RMS and we're looking forward to the upcoming launch of our integration to Dynamics for Retail," said Bob Lowe, Vice President of Business Development at Shift4, who coordinated the partnership efforts on Shift4's side.

Shift4 has nearly two decades of experience in the payments industry, and is looking forward to substantial growth the Microsoft Dynamics RMS space.

"Our first foray into the RMS world came at the request of a valued business partner who wrote the integration and really impressed us with the possibilities," Lowe said. "When we realized how much of the Dynamics user base would benefit from our solution, and how many of them are really in our sweet spot, we started working on an integration for Dynamics for Retail and decided to take the steps to attain Microsoft Partner status and really build out our presence in that marketplace."

Shift4's DOLLARS ON THE NET^® SaaS-based payment gateway allows merchants to quickly and reliably process credit, debit, and gift card transactions while providing pre- and post-settlement auditing, advanced reporting capabilities, and industry-leading security via TrueTokenization^®.

As part of their effort to expand market presence, Shift4 is currently attending Microsoft Convergence 2012 in Houston, TX. While at the event they hope to recruit pilot organizations for their Dynamics for Retail integration and increase the size of their reseller community through referral partnerships.

About Shift4 CorporationFounded in Las Vegas in 1994, Shift4 Corporation is the world's largest independent gateway, serving more than 20,000 clients in several industries, including Hospitality, Retail, Food & Beverage, Mail/Telephone Order, and e-Commerce. Boasting more than 350 POS/PMS integrations and maintaining absolute bank- and processor-neutrality, Shift4 is proudly merchant-centric, helping clients secure the best discount rates while providing industry-leading security, speed, and reliability. Recognized as a pioneer of Tokenization, Shift4 has processed more than three billion tokenized transactions since it coined the term in 2005. Shift4's DOLLARS ON THE NET® solution provides unparalleled pre- and post-settlement auditing capabilities, fraud protection, and drastically simplified PCI compliance. For more information, visit www.shift4.com.

Market Research Forecasts NFC Market Growth at 69% CAGR Through 2016

SOURCE: MarketResearch.com

March 20, 2012 06:08 ET

ROCKVILLE, MD--(Marketwire - Mar 20, 2012) - MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of the new report "Near Field Communication (NFC) Market to 2016 - Increased Availability of NFC Embedded Handsets Key for Higher Market Penetration" to their collection of Software & Services market reports. For more information, visit http://www.marketresearch.com/GBI-Research-v3759/Near-Field-Communication-NFC-Increased-6842490/

NFC is a wireless or contactless communication technology based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO), European Computers Manufacturers Association (ECMA) and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards. It is comparable with other existing technologies, such as MIFARE and FeliCa. The main application areas of NFC-based integrated circuits (ICs) are for mobile based payments in the retail segment and for transportation ticketing.

NFC-based mobile handsets can also be used for peer to peer communication, to download data from smart posters and for use as virtual identity cards. GBI Research expects the NFC market to grow at a CAGR of 68.8% from 2011-2016. Among the different form factors available for NFC IC integration, GBI Research expects the SIM-based model and the handset embedded model to gain the most market share in the future.

The report provides market size figures from 2010-2016 for different NFC secure element (SE) form factors used, and for key NFC end user market applications. The report also discusses the NFC ecosystem and its partners, and the different business models that could be potentially deployed.

This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis by GBI Research's team of industry experts.

Scope

• Technological overview of NFC, the basic standards used and the timeline of development.
• Market size analysis for different SE form factors, such as MicroSD, stickers, tags, embedded SE and Universal integrated circuit card (UICC).
• Comparisons of NFC with other contactless communication technologies, such as MIFARE, FeliCa, Square and Bluetooth 4.0.
• Key NFC end user applications, such as retail, marketing, transportation, identity cards and automotive, are analyzed with market revenues and market shares.
• Market size for the total NFC IC market in terms of sales revenue and sales volume. This is forecast until 2016.
• Market size and analysis of key regions, such as the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), Australia and New Zealand, North America and Europe, in terms of sales revenue and sales volume. This is forecast until 2016.
• Discusses the NFC ecosystem and its partners, and the different business models that can be potentially deployed.
• Expert views and comments from various organizations and companies, such as GSMA, Sequent Software Inc, Mobey Forum, Comprion and Stollmann are included.
• Comprehensive profiles of key companies such as Sony Corporation, NXP Semiconductors, Oberthur Technologies, MasterCard, NFC Forum and Gemalto are provided.

For more information, visit http://www.marketresearch.com/GBI-Research-v3759/Near-Field-Communication-NFC-Increased-6842490/

Making Money from Micropayments Report from VRL

March 21, 2012 08:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

VRL Knowledgebank - Digital Micropayments Grow Rapidly As Market Takes Off

• European micropayments market estimated to be worth €6bn ($8bn) and is forecast to grow to €15bn by 2015 according to a new report from VRL

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Making Money from Micropayments Report released today by top financial and professional services information provider, VRL, finds that revenues generated by utilising collective micropayments for virtual and digital goods is forecast to nearly triple by 2015.

The growth of broadband infrastructure and e-commerce coupled with the rise in social networks, social gaming, and virtual currency has led to a shift from face-to-face, physical payments to the monetisation of digital content, resulting in the emergence of new micropayment business models. Social gaming has been a key driver; between 2007 and 2009 online games with built-in virtual currency systems have proliferated with around 400 million active users on these platforms.

James Duckworth, Reports Editor, VRL Financial News comments: “Growth in the micropayments industry continues to exceed expectations, and opportunities for providers to service this market are tantalising. Companies like PayPal have an opportunity to significantly increase their revenues and market share, and as a result may pose a serious threat to banks’ profitability. What is clear from this report is that there is genuine demand for a micropayments solution from the payments industry, particularly as a result of the growth in virtual currency, estimated at $5bn annually.”

The Making Money from Micropayments Report is essential reading for businesses with a stake in capitalising on this increasingly valuable market. It contains case studies on companies already doing this successfully, including Facebook, Vodafone and Zynga, and examines the opportunities across data, music, software and services, which can be rapidly downloaded for a fraction of the ‘physical’ price. The report further examines the business case for micropayments, emerging business models and examines payment card and service providers. It also looks at the rise of new payments services and user interfaces, and ultimately aims to quantify the micropayments opportunity.

For further details on VRL reports please email info@vrlfinancialnews.com or visit: http://www.vrl-financial-news.com/reports.