Proximity Payment Systems Get An Olympian Effort

Artist Conception - Olympic Stadium, London. Image Credit: Evening Standard (UK)

Proximity Payment Systems Get An Olympian Effort

From cellphones, credit/debit cards, to kiosk pay systems … the 2012 Olympic Games hosted by England will be run as a cashless, contactless payment affaire.

London already boasts more than 5,000 retailers from quick transaction food to specialty retail working with the new systems that feature the use of a special Visa “wave and pay” card that goes by the name Oyster.

The larger plan for the Olympic venues is to have all that attend, carry absolutely NO CASH and be able to go from venue to venue in a utopian, controlled instant and/or pre-paid environment.

Contactless payment systems known as "wave and pay". Image Credit: The Retail Factory (UK)

This from the Evening Standard (UK) -

The plastic Olympics: visitors to 2012 told 'no cash is needed'
Mark Prigg, Science Correspondent - 19.06.08

Visa is already using the technology and has distributed more than 100,000 "wave and pay" cards to its customers in London. More than 5,000 retailers, including McDonald's, Krispy Kreme and Eat have signed up to the scheme.
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From today, the cards can also be used to pay for an Evening Standard simply by tapping them over electronic readers at vendors' kiosks. This uses GPRS-based technology developed in conjunction with Lloyds TSB Cardnet. Guido Mangiagalli of Visa said: "By the end of the year we hope to have over 13,000 retailers signed up but we see the 2012 Games as being our chance to really showcase this technology. Every Olympic venue will have contactless readers in retailers and we aim to make the Games entirely cash-free for visitors."
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For visitors to the Olympics who do not own a credit card, prepay cards will be sold. Payments with the cards will be limited to £10 and Visa hopes they will be used for smaller purchases.
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Mr Mangiagalli said: "We knew there would need to be a significant cultural shift for consumers and retailers to fully embrace the concept of using cards to make low-value payments - traditionally the preserve of cash.
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"In retail environments, such as coffee shops, express grocery stores and newsagents, where purchases are lowvalue and speed of service is essential, Visa payWave offers a secure, convenient and quick alternative to cash and it is revolutionising how consumers pay for items in London and across Europe."

Mobile phone firm O2 has also been testing the technology with a mobile that acts as a credit card and Oyster card. Users simply swipe the back of the phone over a reader to make payments.
Reference Here>>

Symbology News Invades 3GSM Conference

Image Credit: Ecrio Inc.

Symbology News Invades 3GSM Conference

A PR Newswire release timed for the opening of the world’s premiere conference for GSM mobile phone communications (3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain - February 12-15) highlights the announcement of a newly patented process.

The process helps to ‘Beam’ regular barcodes from cellphones to everyday barcode scanners at the PoS checkout lane.

With over 35 million barcode scanners used throughout North America in retail checkout applications, combined with the use of the MoBeam™ Service patented by Ecrio, the cellphone can now be employed as a primary consumer coupon redemption device for products sold universally.

Excerpts from PR Newswire -

Ecrio 'Beams' Barcodes From Mobile Phones to Scanners
MoBeam(TM) Service to be Integrated Into the Visa Mobile Platform
By PR Newswire - CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 12

Ecrio, a leader in real-time communications and commerce software for mobile phones, today launched MoBeam(TM), a patented new service ( United States Patent #6,685,093) that bridges the gap between mobile handsets and the global barcode point-of-sale infrastructure.

This new service will be available globally; Visa International, a leader in payment services, has agreed to integrate MoBeam barcode technology into Visa's recently announced mobile platform.

In addition to the service launch, Ecrio announced that the MoBeam value projector already has been tested on several leading mobile phones, including the ASUS P525, the Hewlett Packard iPaq, the Motorola Q, and the Palm Treo.

For years, technologists have known how to send barcode information to mobile phones (via email, WAP, SMS and more), but have been unable to transfer that barcode information (for tickets, coupons, gift cards, etc.) from the handset to barcode scanning devices. Issues with screen resolution, reflection and other technical limitations have prevented scanners from effectively "reading" barcodes displayed on a mobile device screen. MoBeam finally solves these longstanding problems, enabling the instant transmission of any barcode sequence from handset to scanner.

"MoBeam is the missing link between today's mobile consumer and a worldwide commerce infrastructure based on barcodes," said Nagesh Challa, Ecrio Chairman and CEO. "For instance, a traveler using mobile search functions can be sent a digital coupon, easily redeemed at point-of-sale via the traveler's handset."
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Patrick Gauthier, Senior Vice President of Innovation for Visa International, said "Ecrio shares our commitment to deliver the convenience of mobile payments and services to consumers worldwide. We see MoBeam as a valuable enabling technology for barcode based value added applications using the recently launched Visa mobile platform."

Added Dr. Alex Sun, Vice President of ASUSTeK's Wireless Communication business unit, "As a leading handset supplier to several major European wireless operators, ASUSTeK is pleased to have the MoBeam technology showcased on our phones during 3GSM. MoBeam offers a whole new class of application that we expect will readily be embraced by today's mobile, savvy consumer -- regardless of geography."

Several companies in the current barcode ecosystem have expressed interest in MoBeam, along with major retailers and carriers.
Reference Here>>