American Express Brings Social Offers To Mobile

If you've been following the advancements in near field communication (NFC) technology and mobile payments, you know that one of the biggest selling points for using your phone to pay for your merchandise instead of a good ol' credit card is that services like Google Wallet and Isis promise to offer special deals. If you tap your phone at the register, you might save, for example, 10% off your purchase.

But American Express is trying to pioneer a way that gives you the same deals without needing a new phone. The financial service provider has been toying around with its own deal service, and has been trying to spread it around virally through Facebook, Foursquare, and Twitter. The service allows users to find a deal they like and then link it to their American Express card account.

Of course, the problem with this is it requires you to be connected to a social network and to constantly be monitoring for new deals. Now, though, AmEx is launching an update to its mobile app that will make the process much more seamless. With the update, users can search for offers and immediately apply them to their card, even if they're in the store. Sure, it is still a bit more manual of a process than just using your phone and having the discount be automatically applied, but it's a more universal way to make in-store shopping more social and deal-driven.

[via GigaOM]