With that in place, and the Square app installed, anybody can take a payment from a credit card. Square charges a 3.25-percent transaction fee in Japan, and is promising next-day deposits for “participating banks” and deposits within a week for other banks.

Meanwhile, Square will soon offer Square Wallet functionality in Japan, which will allow for direct payments between accounts, rather than requiring a credit card or cash. Square will also offer businesses the option of using a traditional cash drawer and receipt printer, though the app can send an email receipt by default.

Mobile payments are a growing business, and Japan has been ahead of the curve for some time with cashless options. Cellphones in the country have long been able to use mobile wallet systems, with subscribers able to charge travel, goods, and services to their monthly bill.

Square does not currently offer a Chip & PIN option – where credit or debit cards have an embedded microchip, similar in appearance to a phone SIM card, and the customer must punch in their PIN code to authorize the payment – which is in use in Japan, with the old-fashioned “swipe and sign” process used instead. The company is also working on a system for small payments between friends and family, with Square Cash going into closed beta recently.

Samsung began a revolution with NFC when it launched devices capable of S-Beam. Now it plans on taking it a step forward by enabling NFC mobile payments with its future devices. It will load the Visa payWave application on all of its future devices, which will allow consumers to “wave and pay” for their transactions. Dr. Won-Pyo Hong, president and head of the Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics, said, “Samsung has been a pioneer in NFC devices and is again leading the way in enabling NFC-based mobile payments. The partnership with Visa represents a step towards a global mobile payment platform.”

Alongside Samsung’s devices being able to make NFC mobile payments, Samsung will also allow banks to be able to load personal account information onto Samsung’s devices over-the-air. The transfer of information will be secured by a security chip inside of Samsung’s devices that utilizes the Visa Mobile Provisioning Service linked to Samsung’s Key Management System.

ABI Research believes that 1.95 billion devices will be NFC-enabled by the year 2017. Samsung wants to be the jump-starter that makes NFC-mobile payments commonplace. With it’s huge market share, and large number of loyal followers, Samsung is one of the best candidates to popularize NFC-payments in countries like the United States.

[via Business Wire]

With a mobile payment system you’ve got one whole heck of a lot of bugs to worry about – it’s no small matter making a whole payment system a reality. What we’ve got here is a set of phones already on the market with NFC sensors ready to go, their only need being an app to make them all worthwhile. With Isis’ concept of a fully functional multi-business plan for wireless payments with just a tap, we could very quickly see a mass of phones become a whole lot more useful – and wallets tossed.

“Isis will be launching in Austin and Salt Lake City on Oct. 22. By year end, as many as 20 Isis Ready handsets are expected to be in market. We look forward to sharing more details on Oct. 22.” – Isis marketing lead Jaymee Johnson

Of course that’s just wishful thinking, the final evolution to a one-device system being many years off, if a possibility at all. Apple has a system for cards that work like coupons from your smartphone, and Google already has Google Wallet working with NFC as well – but no system has taken hold at a level that’s game-changing right this minute. Isis plans to be that system.

The Isis group’s marketing lead Jaymee Johnson has let it be known that business should be starting in Salt Lake City and Austin with “as many as” 20 smartphones compatible by the end of the year. With NFC on the rise and more smartphones with the technology being released by the week, Isis is set for a rather large success story if all goes as planned. The final combination that an Isis-capable phone will need is the finalized Isis app, a SIM card compatible with the system, and a store that’ll allow Isis payments. We shall see soon enough!

As Flood noted earlier in the keynote, “85% of the world’s money transactions are made in cash and checks” – still! This is a shocking figure when just this morning we also heard (in this same keynote) that there are more people holding mobile phones today in the world than there are people with electricity or running water. Tapping here without the need for hitting your wallet is what’s being shown, and with only a tap here and there is what MasterCard is showing as the future.

Interestingly enough, slides throughout this presentation showed devices behind text that were slightly outdated. This is likely because these images are easier to license than the newest NFC-laden smartphones, but there’s something strange about seeing the original RAZR up with the future of mobile payments. Stay tuned here through the whole week for more CTIA 2012 action than you can handle!

Square has been leading the mobile payment market for a while, but Verifone has a large customer base and reputable brand to leverage going forward. The features of the SAIL will be extremely similar to Square, but with a few differences. Transactions will have the same 2.7% fee, but Verifone will offer a lower 1.95% rate to those willing to pay $9.95 a month.

The iPhone dongle is a good starting point for small businesses, but as they expand Verifone will offer additional services as they scale, presumably meaning more professional and established point-of-sale devices. The Verifone SAIL app will also feature barcode scanning to give businesses more flexibility, and an online portal will be offered to keep track of payments and inventory.

Finally, Verifone will open up the service to third-party developers, so they could build payment processing right into their apps. As Business Insider points out, Verifone doesn’t care where payments come from, just as long as it’s processing them.

The rival service has been hit with an EU probe thanks in part to the strong objections from Google and Three. Three wasn’t offered an invite to the mobile payment party, and it feels that an agreement between the other carriers is like a joint-selling agreement. The companies hoped to have Project Oscar operating in time for the Olympics.

The three carriers had hoped that the expected increase in mobile and online ads running during the Olympics would help bring attention to their platform. There is no indication of how long the probe will last, but it’s clear that some expect Google to be a launch before Oscar gets the green light.

[via Telegraph]

When Google Wallet launched last year it was only available to one device on one carrier, the Nexus S on the Now Network. Only recently, has the service managed to make its way to a second device, the Galaxy Nexus on AT&T. Hence, it’s no wonder uptake hasn’t been widespread. Despite the powers of Google, it needs Verizon and AT&T support, but both are blocking the service from their NFC-capable devices with only one exception so far.

Google is said to be now re-evaluating its Wallet strategy and wanting to create incentives for carriers. Another option it is exploring is to completely work around the carriers by implementing a system that directly sends transactions to Google’s servers for approval instead of requiring the phones to authenticate the payments.

Although the Google Wallet app has been downloaded by 50,000 to 100,000 people, only a small percentage actually use it. More devices that support the service should be arriving later this year with at least the Now Network planning to release 12 such devices before year-end. But traffic to retail partners for Google Wallet will likely remain low for now.

Current Google Wallet retail partners include Macys, Subway Restaurants, American Eagle Outfitters, Jamba Juice, and Pinkberry, while hardware and software partners include VeriFone Systems, Ingenico, and ViVOtech.

When the service launches, it will only be available to UK residents over 18 years old and only for Barclays account holders. The app will be available by early March and will be offered for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry devices. All users will have to register online to receive payments. Barclays says the transfers using Pingit will be as safe as any other bank transaction and the app has a five-digit passcode set by the user to secure it.

To start with, Barclays will only allow its account holders to use the app, but the bank notes that another launch of the app will be available “soon” and it will allow people with accounts from other banks to use the app when they register. This sounds like a very interesting alternative to PayPal and I wish we could get something like this in the US.

“We’re committed to making customers’ lives much easier, giving them more choice in how they manage their money, and Barclays Pingit absolutely does that. But it is not just Barclays customers who benefit as it’s available to current account customers of all the other UK banks too. I’m sure we’ll soon be wondering what we did before it.”

“Just as small businesses are growing with Square, we’re growing with them: Over 1 million merchants now accept credit cards,” said the company in a tweet. And in response, Co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted, “To put that in perspective: there are only 8 million merchants who accept credit cards in the US.”

Since debuting in 2009, Square has seen tremendous growth, most recently reporting a signup rate of 30,000 to 50,000 new merchants each month. It has shipped 800,000 card readers to merchants and processes $2 billion in payments a year.

Square’s latest offering is a hands-free payment feature using its Card Case app for iOS 5. As more small businesses accept Square, more users may also adopt the Card Case app. However, Square will face tough competition from NFC-based mobile payment systems such as Isis and Google Wallet, which has an additional component of delivering local deals.

[via VentureBeat]

The Google Wallet terminals will be deployed by Cantaloupe Systems, which provides tech services for several vending machine operators. One company, Mark Vend, operates about 2,000 vending machines in the Chicago area and plans to install NFC terminals with Google Wallet support in half of its machines by 2012. The machines with Google Wallet will feature prominent stickers to differentiate them from regular machines.

However, adoption of Google Wallet still has a long way to go. The payment system was first announced back in May, but it only works with Sprint’s Nexus S 4G at the moment. And even with vending machines, Cantaloupe has so far only installed NFC in about 6,000 machines out of the 80,000 machines in its network. There are about six million vending machines across the nation.

[via AllThingsD]

Use is subscription-free, with each transaction charged at 2.7-percent plus a standard $0.20 fee. In contrast, Square doesn’t charge a set fee, but does take 2.75-percent of each transaction. Currently you need two separate accounts to use both the USB and mobile readers, though Kudos is working on integrating them so both systems can be associated with a single merchant account; it’s also one-device-per-account, though again addressing that is supposedly a work in progress.

Payments are “normally” deposited in your account the following business day, the company says. NetSecure is offering both the USB and mobile versions of the reader kit for $99.99 apiece, but OfficeDepot will sell you the mobile setup for $79.99 as part of a limited time promotion.

The other stores that will be taking Google Wallet payments are Aerie and 77Kids. The new payment program is being rolled out to locations of these stores in five major markets in the US. The markets include LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., and NYC. To introduce the new tech to the users in the areas at the Time Square store in NYC store associates and Google ambassadors will be there to take users on a “tapping spree.”

The event will show the users how to use the service and give them loaner phones to use inside the store. The loaner phones will have a $10 gift card on them and users can find other special deals through the store. Google Wallet is also compatible with the AEO AEREWARDS$ loyalty program.

Square is now processing more than $2 billion in payments each year. It also has 800,000 merchants signed up. The numbers make Square count for 10% of the Visa and MasterCard world. The new changes are significant for some users. Square has now dropped the limit on transactions processed weekly before the funds are held. The limit was $1,000 per week before.

After that $1,000 was reached, anything above that in a week was held for as long as a month. Users can now process as much as they can. The per transaction fee of 15 cents was dropped already this year and the removal of the limits makes Square look even better to some users. The goal according to Square is to make it where people don’t need merchant accounts.

[via TechCrunch]

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard such news, we mentioned this briefly back in July as a response to other mobile payment systems such as Google Wallet and more. Along with the retail store in Manhattan coming November 1st, Paypal plans to have plenty QR codes out front and nearby for people walking and passing by to scan that will give them more details and reveal all the information right from Paypal.

Paypal isn’t stopping at QR codes and mobile payments either, the new system is expected to allow consumers to check inventory in real-time, and provide location stats and in-store offers from local stores. Just as Paypal mentioned in September, they plan to offer a complete and comprehensive solution for store merchants and owners to support payments from customers whether they are in-store, online, or using a mobile payment solution.

Paypal’s big brother eBay recently purchased the mobile payment company Zong, to give eBay users similar options too. Paypal told TechCrunch they will continue to debut this technology as they can, and have plans to announce a number of partnerships with many retail stores soon. This is a wise move by Paypal as more and more things are moving towards mobile, for now we’ll just have to wait and see what all they have in store.

What you’re seeing here is the Wallet application that’s automatically added to your device once you’ve updated to version 2.3.7 Gingerbread on your Nexus S 4G. Upon opening this application for the first time, you’ll be prompted to add a PIN number of four characters – numbers only. Once you’ve done this, that PIN is kept secret and the app (and its functions) can only be used by those who have that number. Inside the app you’ll see a rather familiar view with the Google Wallet title up top next to a lock icon (to let you know that, aesthetically, you’re secure), below which you’ll find Payment cards, Loyalty cards, My Offers, and History. Below THAT there’s a simple “How to make a purchase” guide that we recommend everyone take a look at before anything else.

Inside Payment cards you’ll find, like most screens here, sparse options. You’ll want immediately to activate your Google prepaid card as all early-adopters are given a $10 credit right out of the box. You can use this to test your Google Wallet before entering in any sensitive information if you like, this alleviating all of your fears, of course. Next to this there’s a Citi Mastercard (the only card able to be activated right at launch) and gift cards. Each of these are activated by entering in simple information and confirming, at which point your card is linked to your account quite simply.

The Loyalty Cards screen contains a single PLUS sign the same as the cards in Payment cards did, only here there’s some different options: AEO Rewards and OfficeMax. All cards, once entered correctly, have a button underneath them that allows you to simply activate or de-activate them. Just tap and go for it. You’ll be able to select a default card from your Payment cards, everything else is selectable or works automatically.

My Offers will contain coupons galore offered up by groups all around you, these coupons working like any other paper coupon would, having an expiration date, starting time, and value. You can look for Redeemable offers as well as browse through Used and expired offers. This part of the app connects with Google Shopper which we don’t go into too deeply, but is able to be activated directly from the My Offers screen. Here you’ll find offers by selecting (manually or automatically) your physical location, finding coupons around the area that you can redeem.

History is last, but most important if you plan on balancing your credit cards, as all information related to your past actions is listed here in easy to expand form. Below History is the simple use guide which we also go over in the hands-on video.

Sound like something you’re going to pick up and use once you’ve got access?

In an interview with PCMag, head of marketing at Isis, Jaymee Johnson, revealed that Isis plans to compete by offering consumers the most options when it comes to mobile payments. Johnson says that the Isis platform will support multiple banks and retailers at launch and will work on more than one operating system. It will even support Android devices.

“It’s safe to say that when Isis launches we’ll have multiple payment networks, multiple issuers, multiple handsets, multiple operating systems, multiple manufacturers,” said Johnson.

This news follows Google’s Wallet mobile app launch on Monday, which is being rolled out over-the-air this week and set to complete by Friday evening. However, starting off, Google Wallet will only work for the Nexus S 4G on the Now Network carrier, hence being very limited in its reach. Google has not revealed when it will extend Wallet support to other NFC-enabled devices.

[via MobileBurn]

That means we won’t be able to put Google Wallet to the test until the weekend. And even then, the mobile payment app will only be available for one handset model—the Nexus S 4G on the nation’s third largest carrier and Google’s launch partner when the service was first announced back in May. This makes for a very limited pool of initial testers.

These lucky few will get to take advantage of the NFC chips inside their Nexus S 4G handsets to make some rapid purchases at the checkout line. Payments are linked to a Citi MasterCard or to Google’s PrePaid card, which can be funded by almost any credit card such as Visa, American Express, and Discover. Checkout then involves only a single tap of the Nexus S 4G on an NFC-equipped terminal.

There have been talks that Google could extend the Wallet service to other NFC-equipped phones through the use of NFC stickers, but that’s looking less likely now. Reports from earlier today suggest that issues having to do with security could bar NFC stickers as any option.

Google Wallet lets you pay for any of your purchases at participating locations by simply tapping your Nexus S 4G on a NFC-equipped terminal at the register. Payments work with your Citi MasterCard credit card or Google’s PrePaid card, which can be funded by any credit card, including those from Visa, American Express, and Discover.

The Google Wallet service was first announced back in May with initial launch partners being Citi, MasterCard, First Data, and the Now Network carrier. Visa, Discover, and American Express will also be joining the platform soon with support for their NFC specs to be added in future versions of Google Wallet.

For more details on Google Wallet, make sure to visit the official page here.

HTC notes that the smartphone supporting the payment network has been on the works for about a year now. There are few details on the smartphone itself at this point. Presumably, it will be an Android device. Unionpay may end up pushing the mobile NFC payment system in other countries as well. Apparently, the card processor operates in 120 different countries.

Unionpay mobile payment department general manager Xu Jinyao says that there are already about 400,000 POS machines in China already. That number is expected to increase to 700,000 by the end of the year. Mobile payment use around the world is expected to boom.

[via Android Community]