With Mobile World Congress taking place this week in Barcelona there is the normal flurry of activity from all the major handset manufacturers with-regard-to new models, software updates and the latest trend – wearable technology.
New technology fads aside, the news to pay attention to, particularly for small businesses, is Samsung’s announcement that its payment service, Samsung Pay, will be released this coming summer.
There is clever technology that underpins this payment service but the essence of it is that you’ll be able to use the Samsung Pay app to select your credit/debit card of choice and use your finger print to confirm. The app will work with all existing card terminals and all the big guys have signed up – Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Samsung Pay will be rolled out in the US and South Korea first and will hit Europe, China and other regions shortly after.
So, what does this mean for your small business? If you cater to the teenage / young adult market, then you will have to prepare your business to accept Samsung Pay and other mobile payment apps. This technology is easy to integrate with your existing payment infrastructure so there is no reason for you not to be ready and able when the time comes. If you don’t, you can bet your bottom dollar that your competitors will.
With a projected summer release date in the US it’s highly likely that Samsung Pay won’t hit our shores until sometime in 2016.
First steps first, read our Forms of Payment Guide for a run through of the various ways your small business can get paid. Plus, we’ll be publishing more details on the mobile payment apps as they appear.
Be clear about one thing, mobile payments is coming to your business community and it will be a game changer. Be in the game, be mobile payment ready!
