New research from GfK reveals vast age differences in US attitudes toward mobile payments, with Generations Y and Z – often referred to as Millennials – twice as likely to view them as faster, easier or more efficient than other types of transactions.
According to the "FutureBuy2014" study, these younger US consumers also show more confidence in the security of mobile payments, although Generations Y and X are actually more concerned than Baby Boomers about the possibility of a personal information breach via mobile payments.
Research shows that, despite attitudinal differences, the generations are essentially the same in their use of mobile payments—which account for just 2% to 3% of all transactions in the US.
Mobile Mindset
When asked if mobile payments are "easier," "faster," or "more efficient," 29% to 46% of Generations Y (ages 25 to 34) and Z (ages 18 to 24) agreed either completely or somewhat—compared to a range of 18% to 30% for Gen X (ages 35 to 49) and Baby Boomers (ages 50 to 68).
In addition, 38% of those in Gen Z said mobile payments are more secure than other payment methods, compared to 16% for Gen X and 12% for Boomers.
Overall, 57% agreed completely or somewhat that they are worried about the security of their personal information with mobile payments. Forty-two percent found mobile payment technology "still clunky," while 37% saw it as "more of a gimmick than a major way I pay."
"While some view mobile payments as a solution in search of a need, our findings suggest that Millennials and even younger consumers will embrace mobile payment methods more and more," said Tom Neri, Executive Vice President of GfK's Financial Services team in North America. "This will accelerate store retail adoption—especially as devices such as wearables offer more convenience and sophisticated payment options. But, to encourage widespread acceptance, financial services companies and device makers will need to come to terms with consumers' concerns about security and their sense that mobile payments may just be a gimmick."
TouchBistro and Merchant Warehouse Team up to Deliver Apple Pay to Restaurants
TouchBistro and Merchant Warehouse have announced that the companies are working together to ensure restaurants and food service businesses that use the TouchBistro POS solution have access to the widest selection of options that patrons can use to pay for their food and drink orders.
TouchBistro uses the highly secure Merchant Warehouse Genius Customer Engagement Platform to process payments made via the TouchBistro POS solution. Genius supports mobile commerce using technologies such as NFC and QR codes, and is designed to accept all current and future payment types – including LevelUp, PayPal, Google Wallet, SoftCard, and now Apple Pay.
With Genius and TouchBistro, food service businesses of any size are ready to accept Apple Pay and other NFC-enabled mobile payment solutions instantly. This provides opportunities to bring new customers in the door and to give regular customers a reason to come back again and again.
TouchBistro brings mobile innovation to the food and beverage industry, providing a modern point-of-sale solution that is easy to use, packed with smart features, integrated with different payment processing options such as those provided by Merchant Warehouse, and at a lower cost. Servers use the TouchBistro iPad app to take tableside customer orders, and instantly submit them to the kitchen and bar. This eliminates the need for servers to enter a customer’s order into a separate, distant terminal, which minimizes order errors and increases operations efficiency.
With its focus on customer experience, TouchBistro is continually enhancing its POS solution to ensure new functionality addresses the needs of restaurateurs and keeps pace with advances in the technology market. This also ensures restaurateurs are better equipped to deliver a superior experience to their customers.
TouchBistro is the number one grossing restaurant POS system on the Apple App Store in 30 countries, according to App Annie, and will be fully integrated with Apple Pay when it launches in those markets.
Will Retailers Struggle to Keep Holiday Shelves Stocked?
(Reuters) - A shortage of transportation equipment and possible labor disruptions at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex, the nation's busiest, is delaying shipping containers for up to three weeks, threatening timely delivery to retailers for the holiday season.
The delays are affecting retailers including JC Penney Co, Macy's Inc., Kohl's Corp., Nordstrom Inc., American Eagle, Ralph Lauren, and Carter's. Retail giant Wal-mart Stores Inc., reportedly diverted 300 shipment containers to Oakland to avoid the congestion.
The problem stems from a shortage of trucking equipment, called chassis, but the National Retail Federation in a statement said protracted labor negotiations were an issue, too.
Most retailers acknowledged the delays at the key ports for shipments from Asia, but said they did not anticipate product shortages during the holidays. Even so, any delay can derail a finely calibrated just-in-time inventory control system, making it costlier for retailers to put merchandise on the shelves.
With major port contracts up for renewal this year, retailers including Wal-Mart ordered early and prompted a surge of deliveries in June and July, port statistics show. But significant volume still arrived during the traditional August-October period that proceeds the November-January holiday shopping season. The Port of New York and New Jersey is also affected, but to a lesser extent.
Maestro PMS Certified for Chip & PIN Credit Card Processing in North America
Maestro PMS has announced the Maestro Property Management System Suite (PMS) is certified for Chip & PIN processing for North American hotel operators. Maestro will provide support for multiple payment card processing providers that accept Chip & PIN payments. Maestro PMS is the leading provider of solutions that increase revenue and create efficient, profitable operations for independents.
EMVCo has set an important October 2015 deadline that affects hotels. [EMVCo is the organization that facilitates worldwide interoperability and acceptance of secure payment transactions.] On that date, credit card liability in the U.S. will shift from card issuers to acquirers for counterfeit fraud card-present POS transactions if the merchant does not have an EMV-enabled (Chip & PIN) POS device. Chip & PIN processing has greatly reduced credit card fraud in Europe, and the same benefits are expected in North America.
EMVCo was formed in 1995 and stands for Europay/MasterCard/Visa. EMVCo is owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard, and Visa. It manages, maintains, and enhances the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications to ensure global interoperability of chip-based payment cards with acceptance devices, including POS terminals and ATMs.
Chip & PIN processing protects the hotel operator if a charge is disputed and the cardholder used their pin on a chip card that the hotel honored. However, the liability for fraud shifts from the credit card company to the merchant hotel operator if the operator could not process the Chip & PIN transaction. Newly issued credit cards will have an integrated chip embedded to create a more secure card. The chip coincides with a cardholder’s required code, or PIN, to authenticate the transaction. Card readers operate like magstripe authorization, but a cardholder's PIN is required for payment. Payments are processed the same as with a magnetic credit card.
