WWWorld.ru · Темы дня · Разделы дня · Интересы дня · 2012 · Свежие новости

As the mobile wallet wars heat up, a newly approved patent could play a major role. Earlier this week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an approved patent to Apple for an e-wallet. While patent No. 8,127,982 is entitled Parental Controls, and describes such embodiments as a parent setting up a prepaid account for a child, it could also be used in other contexts where there is a subsidiary financial account. These could include an employer setting up a mobile wallet for an employee, for instance. The patent also describes credit card statements that are sent directly to iTunes accounts. iWallet for iPhone 5? The rules for the use of the subsidiary account could include a time period, merchant categories or named retailers, geography, and so on. The main account holder can define the rules. While that seems to constitute a relatively limited patent, some observers see the legal protection as being potentially broad. That viewpoint is based on the fact that, since purchases on a mobile device will be linked to iTunes accounts, users will be able to create rule-based transactions for themselves and others, all driven from iTunes. The speculation includes the possibility that, just as the intelligent voice agent Siri was the key innovative feature in the iPhone 4S, an iWallet might play that role for the coming iPhone 5. With mobile devices so prevalent, mobile wallets are now becoming a hot new territory, with several major companies and a variety of smaller ones jockeying for position. Late last month, for instance, several major credit card companies announced deals with Isis, a joint venture based in New York City. The Isis Mobile Wallet is owned by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless. Other Wallets In that announcement, Chase, Capital One, and Barclaycard said they will allow their credit, debit,... newsfactor.com »

 Google угрожает, что будет удалять Android-приложения, которые используют другие платежные системы. ruformator.ru »

Компания Google планирует в скором времени внести изменения в свою стратегию развития мобильной платежной системы Google Wallet из-за того, что ее внедрение проходит более медленными темпами, чем предполагалось ранее. Об этом сообщает агентство Reuters со ссылкой на осведомленные источники. Так, интернет-гигант планирует предложить процент от доходов крупным провайдерам, таким как Verizon Wireless и AT&T, чтобы стимулировать их более активно внедрять данную технологию. Напомним, что Google Wallet позволяет пользователям расплачиваться за покупки на кассах в магазинах, просто прикладывая свой мобильный телефон к специальному считывающему устройству. По словам источников, на сегодняшний день, внедрение технологий, позволяющих применять Google Wallet в магазинах, происходит достаточно медленно. Компания активно... CNews »

Google Wallet hopes to make a comeback -- or at least turn some heads -- when it debuts on its second device. After a poor reception on Sprint in September, Google Wallet is about to show up on the LG Optimus Elite through Virgin Mobile. Google Wallet is a free Android app that lets customers turn their smartphones into wallets and make purchases with the tap of the phone. The app stores virtual versions of your credit cards, offers and loyalty cards on the smartphone. Google Wallet currently supports Citi MasterCard credit cards and the Google Prepaid MasterCard, powered by First Data. Google plans to support additional cards. Some of the hundreds of thousands of participating retailers include American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Macy's, Foot Locker and Subway. Google Wallet's Slow Take-Off The Optimus Elite debuted on Sprint's network on Sept. 20. Now, Virgin Mobile is getting into the Google Wallet game by offering the device, which features Android 2.3 Gingerbread. In order to run Google Wallet, smartphones need NFC, or near-field communication, capability. NFC is a short-range communication protocol that's similar to Bluetooth. The Optimus Elite also offers a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, 800 MHz processor, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and camcorder with flash, virtual QWERTY keyboard and mobile hotspot capability. Consumers can also download Box on LG Optimus Elite and get 50 GB of free cloud storage and sharing directly from LG. We asked Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, how Google Wallet is performing in the marketplace. His answer: Adoption is still slow. "Because Google owns Android, we thought Google Wallet was going to be a bigger thing sooner," Enderle told us. "But the fact that this phone is coming out from LG might indicate that we are on the front edge of what could be a Google Wallet movement. On... newsfactor.com »

Cash, coins and credit cards are so Twentieth Century. At least, that's the opinion of the electronics manufacturers, phone companies, banks and credit card issuers that expect cellphones to be the main way consumers pay for purchases in the not-so-distant future. The trouble is, that vision-of-tomorrow is somewhat blurry, as evidenced at the U.S. cellphone industry trade show held this week in New Orleans. There are a lot of ideas, but little agreement. The stakes, however, are high. "Eighty-five percent of the world's transactions are still made with cash and checks. We have a wonderful opportunity to convert those," said Gary Flood, MasterCard's president of global products and solutions, in a keynote speech at the show. One concept that gets a lot of attention is the "digital wallet" -- a virtual repository for our credit card numbers, receipts, coupons. It's not much different from a PayPal account, which can be linked to different cards. A lot of companies see the wallet as the key to influence in the world of mobile payments, especially if it sits on a cellphone, not just on a PC. Google introduced its Wallet last year. It's available on a few phones that can be tapped against certain payment terminals to complete a payment. Andrew Lorentz, a lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP who works with the payments industry, said at the show that if he had a dime for every digital wallet that's been announced, he'd be rich. "I can have more wallets than cards," he said. At the show, MasterCard announced a service that could speed up wallet proliferation even more. The company's idea is to let any company that wants to set up its own wallet. "The idea behind this is: How do we get more wallets and more innovation?" said Ed Olebe, MasterCard's senior vice president of e-commerce development. Consumers trust... newsfactor.com »