Point-of-sale giant VeriFone Systems Inc. today unveiled SAIL, a credit and debit card reader that plugs into the audio jack of an iPhone and iPad and will be available for Android devices later this month. SAIL is targeting Square Inc., PayPal, and Intuit Inc., which also offer these plastic dongle-type devices for portable credit/debit card processing.
Square pioneered the concept of offering a free POS reader on mobile devices. Unlike many other POS services, Square's signup process is quick and designed for the many merchants and individuals who can't meet the credit requirements, don't want to pay the higher fees, and/or just don't want to deal with more bureaucratic POS companies.
In more than two years since its debut, Square has been quite successful, and major financial companies have taken notice.
VeriFone offers SAIL merchants two payment options: 2.7 percent per transaction without other fees, or 1.95 percent per transaction plus a $9.95 monthly subscription.
VeriFone has application programming interfaces and a software development kit for third-party companies that want to integrate with SAIL. VeriFone says, "SAIL is designed to help businesses retain and attract customers through integration with social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp."
VeriFone is offering SAIL with barcode scanning capability, inventory management software, and integration with its traditional countertop POS readers. The company says SAIL will be able to accommodate cellphones with Near Field Communication and other mobile payments options.
As I've written several times previously, 2012 will be extremely dynamic for mobile payment trials in the US, but it also will be extremely confusing for consumers and business people trying to determine which systems (if any) they want to test.
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previous posts from Alan Reiter's Wireless Web World
Beginning today, Google Offers is sponsoring free WiFi at eight US shopping malls and discounted WiFi at 16 US airports. The service is provided by Boingo Wireless, but there's a downside to the promotion.
Dunkin' Donuts has released a mobile payments application for Android and iOS devices that's similar to the Starbucks app, but with an extra feature of gifting. The Dunkin' Donuts software got me thinking about store apps versus platform mobile wallet apps.
The CTIA is changing its fall conference and exhibition to focus exclusively on enterprises. The event has evolved from giving equal weight to consumer and business issues to emphasizing business.
With the enterprise-only target, the show has changed its name from CTIA Enterprise and Applications to MobileCON. I think it would have been better to use a title like MobileCON Enterprise, rather than a generic name that doesn't highlight the business focus.
MobileCON will be held October 9-11 at the San Diego Convention Center, with pre-conference seminars and tutorials on October 8.
Google is laying off 4,000 Motorola Mobility employees, closing a third of its 94 global offices, and tightening the unit's focus on smartphones, the New York Times reports. In the medium-to-long term, this could be good for Motorola and Google, enterprises, and consumers.
Telcos are falling over themselves to launch app stores – but are the app developers listening? Most telcos will need to do a lot more to engage their attention.
Imagine being able to use your mobile phone to pay taxi and mass transit fare; use vending machines; make retail purchases; and check in at hotels. Every day, millions of citizens in Japan, S. Korea, and soon Singapore do so simply by waving their mobile phones in front of point-of-sale terminals using near-field communication or related technology. But, while the technology is readily available in the US, it will be some time before Americans can use their cellphones as mobile wallets.
In order for banks to grow, they'll first have to start by retaining their standing client bases. To do this will require better customer service and more transparency. Banks are meeting these needs through more automated commodity services and mobile banking applications.
The PNC Financial Group is using social networking for outreach, product development, customer segmentation, branding, and more. It has also developed an iPhone-based virtual wallet application for Gen Y customers.
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
Google Maps 6.0 helps users navigate indoor locations like IKEA and airports. While this sounds good, Nicole fears it will also breed dumber humans who bump into each other a lot, or something.
A Citigroup researcher says Amazon is developing its own cellular phone. Amazon, take heed: It's a tougher business to crack than selling the Kindle Fire.
Ireland has joined two other countries in enacting a three-strikes disconnect rule for folk caught file sharing. But 80% of perps don’t even know they are doing it!
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
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