My conversations with epayments exhibitors at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE), held June 5-8 in Chicago, brought two ecommerce payments themes to the fore: international payments and echecks. The first seemed natural to me, as ecommerce frees retailers from geographic boundaries. The second theme, the promotion of the echeck as a payments … [Read more...] about Vendors Promote International, Echeck Payment Options at IRCE
Payments
Electronic Toll Collection Gets Easier
Since August 2008, I have made at least one annual road trip from Chicago to New York state. Last week, my wife and I made our last drive to New York to see our daughter graduate from Bard College. When we got to the New York State Thruway, I pulled into the cash-only lane, only to find that my Illinois I-Pass electronic toll transponder paid my fare. I don’t recall that ever … [Read more...] about Electronic Toll Collection Gets Easier
Wallet Wars in the Streets of Chicago
There is a war going on for your wallet. The combatants are credit card companies, banks, and tech companies both established and emerging. Until recently, most of the operations were covert: contracts, alliances, M&A, and other business activities that by and large go unnoticed by the general public. The war is now spilling onto the streets of Chicago. From cabs to … [Read more...] about Wallet Wars in the Streets of Chicago
Wallet Wars in Chicago
MOBILE PAYMENTS: P2P EPayment and Mobile Wallet Ads Battle at the Bus Stops If you've walked up State St. in Chicago's Loop or along the Magnificent Mile on north Michigan Ave. you've likely seen Citi's ads for Google Wallet. They're on about every other bus stop. If you've been at the bus stop on the northwest corner of State and Madison, you may have noticed that Chase's ad … [Read more...] about Wallet Wars in Chicago
First Square
MOBILE PAYMENTS: A Chicago Cabbie Collects Credit-Card Fares with Square Square, a mobile payments firm, became one of last year's major epayments success stories. I read a lot about the firm, founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Doesey, over the past year, but I had never seen one of the devices in action until a week ago. I gave my credit card to a Chicago cab driver, as I … [Read more...] about First Square
The P2P Payment Challenge
This photo of the menu at Silver Spoon, the Thai restaurant in Chicago that my wife and I ate at this evening, tells a good bit of the person-to-person (P2P) mobile payment story: As survey after survey has shown over the past two years, debit cards are the fastest growing means of payments. As fewer people carry much cash, restaurants are faced with multiple debit and credit … [Read more...] about The P2P Payment Challenge