The future of mobile payment processing

With the rise of smartphones and other portable devices as well as fast cellular internet services the dream of paying for goods and services through a secure mobile payment system is going to become a reality. Although the adoption of the mobile payment technologies that mainly include NFC payments has been slow and somewhat disappointing, this mode of payment according to analysts is here to stay.

According to research firm Gartner the mobile payments are going to see a major boom in the next couple of years and will reach a very high level in the year 2017. According to the firm the mobile payment transactions are likely to reach around $721 billion by the year 2017 with total number of users touching 450 million. Even right now the figures are expected around $235.4 billion in the year 2013 with 245.2 million users, which is 44 percent higher than the previous year.

Many big companies such as Paypal, which is already a leader in online payments are aggressively pushing towards era of this new mode of making payments by introducing new mobile payment technologies. Paypal recently added new features to its mobile app for smartphones. The company added the ability for users to pay at their local shops, restaurants and other places using the app’s Bluetooth powered Beacon feature. All they have to do is load the app on their iPhone or any other device and tell the staff that they are paying through the Paypal mobile app and the staff will then load the Point of Sale (POS) system to complete the transaction.

One of the many reasons Paypal has an edge over other companies offering the same feature is that not only it is more widely used but it also has a large presence in retail outlets. Its app even tells users where they can use the mobile payment method of the app making it easier for them to identify places that accept this model of payment.

Another innovative idea that aims to bring mobile payments to the masses is VeriFone’s Way2ride. This mobile app that is available for Android and iOS platforms allows users to pay for services or products through voice detection. Initially this service is available in New York city’s cabs only. The reason why cabs are targeted first is because the Verifone company, which is behind the Way2ride app already provides payment processing services in 13,000 yellow cabs of this city.

How this works is pretty simple, users have to launch the app on their iPhone or Android smartphone and allow it to pick up an inaudible sound signal, which will be containing unique code for each taxi in the network. The code that is hidden in the audio is sent to the online servers where it is matched with the particular cab. Once everything is checked the information is sent to the cab where the passenger can also see the information on the console placed on the back seat. From there user can confirm the payment option and pay for the ride.

Verifone isn’t the only company that is experimenting with the voice based authentication for the  mobile payments. Other companies such as Clinkle is also doing a similar thing.

With all the new technologies and estimates from major firms it is for sure that the mobile payments are going to be huge in the near future.