The personalization of mobile wallets
According to Rambus CMO Jerome Nadel, mobile wallets of the future will be personalized and contextually integrated to intelligently interact with retailers. One such example, says Nadel, is the concept of beacons automatically activating a digital wallet when shoppers enter a particular store.
“The wallet will provide shoppers with relevant and contextual information to help them determine what they need,” he explained.
“So, mobile wallets need to be personalized and reflect the merchant that I’m interacting with. Of course, mobile wallets need to be efficient and utilitarian, but they also should provide real value.”
Meanwhile, Nigel Reavley of FIME told Rambus Press that the mobile wallet will be a sort of “concentrator” that combines payments with other applications, such as loyalty and rewards in the context of transport ticketing. These mobile wallets should also project the brand of the provider, whether a bank or OEM pay.
“In Europe, many of the Scandinavian banks have their own mobile wallets. This makes it very easy for you to make transactions either from you to a company or peer-to-peer to another a person,” said Reavley. “Another example includes retailers. We can see examples of big retailers in the market bringing mobile wallets to their customers to make it very simple and easy for [consumers] to purchase from [a particular merchant]. This obviously builds loyalty and at the same time, brings convenience to customers [who] use the mobile wallet.”
Martin Koderisch of Edgar, Dunn & Company expressed similar sentiments.
“[While] the mobile wallet is important as a standalone app, I think it’s more important when it’s [presented] in conjunction with an existing ecosystem and established retail experience that you have or know – such as such as a user experience or grocery app store,” he added.
Accelerating mobile payment adoption
As we’ve previously discussed on Rambus Press, simplicity alone does not guarantee adoption of mobile payments. For many industry players, there is now a focus on delivering a compelling shopping experience to the consumer, rather than purely simplifying the physical process of paying. As can be seen with successful mobile applications, such as Starbucks, the intelligent, specific deployment of value-added services is key to establishing a compelling reason for use and delivering a buying experience to the consumer.
Although the OEM pay platforms, banks and retailers recognize the value of value-added services, at present their deployment across the wider industry is fragmented. Schemes are often limited to specific merchants, cardholders, applications, locations or operating systems. To reference Starbucks, a key part of their success is the fact that users can earn and deploy their loyalty points with any smartphone, anywhere. With over three billion loyalty cards predicted to have been provisioned to mobile applications by 2021, however, consumers will soon enjoy a far more consistent experience.
Predictive analytics and machine learning are another way for banks and retailers to build a compelling shopping experience. Mobile applications can leverage past behavior and intelligently deploy vast swathes of user data to deliver smart recommendations. In addition, augmented reality enables consumers to analyze product information and read reviews in-store and in real time, rather than having to research at home before heading out to the store. By 2020, consumers will expect a lot more than just convenience from their mobile payments application. Success will therefore be dependent on the effective integration of these value-added components.
Rambus Unified Payment Platform
The Rambus Unified Payment Platform redefines the traditional shopping experience for a new age of frictionless commerce that is securely built on an economy of digital trust. For consumers, the Rambus Unified Payment Platform combines payments, gift cards, loyalty rewards and coupons in a single retail app. For retailers, the Rambus Unified Payment Platform offers tangible value beyond the initial transaction by facilitating lucrative upselling and cross-selling opportunities with integrated loyalty points and coupons. The platform also provides direct access to detailed consumer data, allowing retailers, banks and merchant acquirers to offer a personalized shopping experience and more effectively compete in a crowded marketplace.
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