How to Implement IoT Payments Technology With Ease and Security

The payment landscape is constantly changing. Whether through payment apps, smart credit cards or soon-to-be released technologies, small and medium-sized businesses are faced with the challenge of accepting numerous ways to receive payments without excluding any customers or compromising security. Fortunately, vendor technology is keeping pace with consumer-driven tech. For instance, our BLE 5.0 SIM-sized card, mBeaconSAM, enables mobile payments at POS. Here's what that means for small and medium-sized businesses in particular.

Security

Small and medium-sized businesses are becoming likely targets of hackers because SMBs hold the same kinds of consumer data as larger organizations, yet they are seen as less likely to stave off an attack. Through a combination of factors that include employee security training, security audits and managed cloud services, many SMBs are able to protect customer information. However, when it comes to POS equipment, particularly IoT and IoT-like devices, payment information can become vulnerable to hacks.

The mBeaconSAM is a standard 2FF card form factor that integrates with card reader SAM slots. Its bank-grade encryption meets PCI compliance standards. Equipped with this technology, POS devices have greater security across a variety of payment options, to include smart cards and mobile wallet payments.

Efficiency

Whether your staff is setting up a pop-up event, or roving through your warehouse-style retail location, mBeaconSAM provides hand-held POS devices with the capacity to securely accept a variety of digital payments. This kind of efficiency is extremely relevant as payment options continue to evolve. For instance, smart cards were once considered innovative, recently considered dead on arrival and currently seen as poised for resurgence. None of this should impact your organization's ability to move products and meet customer demands.

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Financial Institutions Mobile Wallet Strategies: Bringing Convenience to Bank Customers

In the world of finances, customers demand more and more convenience in a time when lives continue to become busier. Most of this centers on mobile technology, particularly mobile wallet strategies. If your financial institution hasn't looked into the possibilities of using mobile wallet practices, it's time to think about the convenience for your clients.

The key is to use third-party technologies to make mobile wallets work successfully. Using mBeacons are the best source technologies to make this happen so you prevent lags in financial transactions.

Beyond these benefits, what can you do to promote the strongest attributes to customers?

Bringing Valued-Added Services

If you're going to bring some strategy to mobile wallets, keep this in mind: The more value you add, the better. This is what it's really all about over brand names and whether your bank has the best interest rates.

Keep the customer in mind and what it can do for them. It may require some marketing explanations before you start offering a mobile wallet.

How can you best describe the convenience it brings to the client so they fully understand what's available?

Creating a Peer-to-Peer System for Financial Transactions

With the proper technologies, mobile wallets provide a peer-to-peer network that enables easy financial transfers. While this is going to become attractive to your clients, also consider promoting how mobile wallets offer cross-border remittance.

Since many people want to continue to do their banking the same way when they travel, offering convenience across borders only adds to the appeal.

Real-Time Financial Management

A lot of technologies now tout real-time tools enabling more immediacy rather than second-guessing. Clients want to keep up on their finances live from one source rather than have to wait for digital (or paper) statements.

Applying the use of our mobile payments acceptance technology allows this to occur in a more immediate way without worrying about technological downtime.

Identity Management

With security being top-of-mind in all financial institutions, you should also promote how mobile wallets help in digital identity management. It can become easier to identify the user behind any transaction, particularly when it's peer-to-peer.

Clients also appreciate being able to manage their own identities to prevent their information from being stolen or altered.

At Netclearance, we offer numerous mBeacons to bring mobile wallet solutions to your business. Contact us to find out more about how these can work to create a multitude of proximity applications.

PSD2 and Impact On Mobile Payments: Bringing Account Payment Systems to Customers

With PSD2 now ready to change how banks offer payments to customers, have you realized how this could change your financial organization for the better? It's time to think about the welfare of your customers if you haven't given them much payment convenience.

Known as the second Payment Services Directive, PSD2 might sound inconvenient in changing technology. Yet, it brings opportunity for you to bring account payment systems to customers for more consistency and quality.

Bringing More Choice to Payment Systems

Since PSD2 open things up to start using third-party financial service providers, it gives more choice for your customers in the payment systems they prefer. Consider how limiting it is for them in having to stick with one type of payment method.

The problem with limiting options is it means customers being forced to use the same features, sometimes in inhibiting ways. Your old payment technology might not allow easy mobile payments either, which is a big mistake in the mobile culture we're living in.

Faster Service

Consider that adding choices brings in other technologies allowing for faster service in your payment systems. Tools like mBeacons add a convenient way to bring an "anywhere and anytime" banking process. Basically, you can create an API-driven architecture for customers to make purchases from any location.

When you have customers from other countries or in remote areas, PSD2 rules let you bring in mBeacon technology to make transactions quicker. In turn, you'll be able to maintain more loyal customers when they realize they can use a reliably fast payment service.

Using More Invisible Technology

We're truly living in a more wireless world, and this includes being able to do transactions with far less effort. The world hasn't evolved to doing transactions in our heads yet, though we may get there someday.

What we do have is being able to make purchases on our mobile devices with just one click. Offering this kind of convenience to your customers is why account payment systems may soon become mainstream.

Best of all, PSD2 compliance now allows more transparency for international payments. Hidden fees used to hinder this, though now a customer can know what it really costs before doing transactions overseas.

Our mBeaconPay technology at Netclearance allows new payment acceptance methods while providing the transparency and faster service your customers expect.

Contact us to find out more about how this works and how much benefit it brings in lower costs.

Effective Mobile Wallet Strategies for Financial Institutions

Mobile wallets are surging in popularity thanks to a convergence of new technologies and the embrace of these technologies by younger consumers. People are now used to carrying smart phones everywhere, making peer-to-peer payments without the use of checks, and paying for things at stores by waving their phones at special devices.

Because of these things, financial institutions are beginning to rush to get in on this new option. That said, they aren't all running to hire specialized in-house technicians to do this. Instead, they are outsourcing their mobile wallet projects to companies that focus on this part of the financial industry. This allows banks and other institutions to focus on their core competencies, such as investing, while growing their customer bases at the same time.

Since branding is as important to financial companies as it is to any other, both they and their customers find it best for mobile wallets to have the appropriate image. Options like ApplePay, which give all of the branding power to Apple, are not the best for banks and bank-like institutions. Instead, it's better for a mobile wallet to use the institution's branding. This causes them to seek mobile wallet companies that provide full branding options.

One mobile wallet company making waves is Netclearance. It makes hardware and software that allows financial institutions to easily set up custom-branded mobile wallet solutions for their customers. By working with them, financial companies can easily provide all of the tools today's customers expect. There is no need to hire a special internal IT division, and Netclearance's system has been tried and tested enough to ensure that everything will go smoothly. Contact Netclearance today to see how it can bring your institution on board with the latest payment technology developments.

Cryptocurrencies in Retail: The Wave of the Future Today?

Much ado has been made about the use of cryptocurrencies in the future, especially as Bitcoin becomes more popular. But is it possible that cryptocurrencies are the future of retail? Let's take a look at the possibilities. 

• By the end of the summer 2016, it's estimated that more than 260,000 businesses in Japan will accept cryptocurrencies as forms of payment, according to a study conducted by Futurism. This suggests that while American stores haven't caught up as much as of late, there's a good chance that this trend will move to America soon enough. But this study also suggests that cryptocurrencies are, indeed, the wave of the future. 
• According to 99Bitcoins, there are a few American companies that currently accept Bitcoins as currencies. Major companies, such as WordPress, OK Cupid, Expedia, and Whole Foods Market are just a few of the many American companies that are accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment, and this suggests that this trend will expand in America, though perhaps not as quickly as it did in Japan. 
• But what's most interesting about cryptocurrencies is that Bitcoins, while the most popular, aren't the only ones out there. According to CoinDesk, there are a number of cryptocurrencies that are just as popular, if not moreso, than Bitcoins, including Ethereum, Ripple, and LiteCoin.

Netclearance mBeaconPay platform integrates seamlessly with retail cash registers and enables Bitcoin payment acceptance in retail, thus helping consumers and merchants to adopt it as method of payment. For more information about us and our services, including how you can integrate cryptocurrency acceptance into your business, contact us today. 

How mBeaconSAM Enables IoT Payments at POS: Bringing Bluetooth Low Energy to Your Business

You've likely heard a lot about The Internet of Things and how it's ushered in the era of smart devices. While we're seeing it used in everything from appliances to our entertainment devices, only recently have we seen IoT employed into the world of payment systems.

At Netclearance, we've recently designed our latest product: the mBeaconSAM. It's a BLE 5.0 SIM-sized payments beacon you can slot into your existing credit card readers to allow mobile payments.

In other words, mBeaconSAM enables IoT payments at any POS, which means far more convenience for your customers.

Using Bluetooth Low Energy Technology

At the center of mBeaconSAM is the ability to use Bluetooth Low Energy technology, something designed for IoT and devices requiring longer hours of power.

Integrating this technology into a mobile payment system guarantees you can keep things running without lulls while reaching a wider customer base.

With many consumers now using mobile for all their shopping, enabling them to pay by a mobile device from another POS proves you don't have technological limitations. We're living in a time where not providing mobile options turns off many consumers who find other payment methods tedious.

Capturing More Data During the Transaction

Thanks to Bluetooth Low Energy in the mBeaconSAM smart card, you'll capture more data from consumers as they buy from you. Whether they use a smartphone, tablet, or wearable during a purchase, the ability to take in more data can become beneficial to scope out information.

Having more data on your consumers enables you to better understand their buying habits. Now you can provide more of what they want in the future.

At the same time, they'll be more apt to want to buy from you thanks to your attention to innovative mobile technology.

Alleviating Any Worry About Security

One thing we assure is bank-grade encryption so you don't have to invest in expensive equipment. It's all built in to the mBeaconSAM's system for complete security assurance.

For any customers who still seem skeptical about purchasing things via mobile, they don't have to fret. They can shop in confidence without wondering what safeguards you have in place.

How Netclearance Can Help

Click here for more information on how our next generation mobile payment beacon finally brings IoT tech to a place where it's going to make a real difference.

Solving the Bitcoin Acceptance Challenge in Retail

Many of us know what to expect when we go to the store; we pick out our chosen items, and we pay with cash, card or check. Much fewer of us know that a new currency has begun to emerge; this digital currency, called bitcoin, has the potential to be an easier, quicker, cheaper, and more secure way to pay, especially online and now offline as well.

Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency, which relies on special computer keys and codes to keep it encrypted and secure. It was created by 36-year-old Satoshi Nakamoto, who claimed to have spent a year coding it due to a recent financial crisis. While the bitcoin's initial value was over 36 USD, today as of this writing is over 2,000 USD. Those who seek out bitcoin, or "miners," generally operate on a lottery system; essentially, whoever has the fastest computer gets the most bitcoin.

While bitcoin seems like an effective solution for retail and online currency, many businesses have yet to adopt it. Bitcoin and other services like it are still in their infancy; while some companies have invested millions in bringing bitcoin to traditional retail, most consumers would be at a loss to find one near them. However, bitcoin as a form of universal and useful currency is growing, hopefully to be used effectively worldwide in the next decade.

Though bitcoin is the future for many businesses, it's the present for us. The Netclearance mBeaconPay platform works effortlessly with retail cash registers, enabling retailers to accept bitcoin as common currency. Making the mBeaconPay system widespread would allow bitcoin to grow even faster, giving everyone a chance for simple, easy, safe transactions, no matter where they go.

How Fintech Companies can Benefit from PSD2

PSD2 demonstrates the shift in the regulatory thinking. Opening data and having data sharing is hugely beneficial, both for banks, clients and the Fintech community. Banks have two parts that they can consider. One is compliance with the regulation, meaning they will meet the data sharing requirements and they'll provide those services to their customers. The other is embracing the legislation itself, taking that forward, considering what it means, and then using it to drive value-added solutions for their clients.

The opening of data sharing within PSD2 provides both banks and customers with some different opportunities. For example, consider a multi-bank customer who has several accounts. Currently, have to go into multiple primary systems to access that data in a non-standardized format. They then bring that data back into their environment to provide the use for it or understand their positions within PSD2. Banks can share that information among themselves. Customers can elect to use one part provider for all of those services and access that data in standardized formats. Thus, the data is available to them much more quickly and readily, providing many efficiencies for them.

Banks can start using value-added solutions to drive efficiency and understanding for customers. Working capital management is one such example where they can start giving customers real insights into how their business is performing, not only for themselves but versus their peers. While uncertainty continues to surround PSD2, specifically relating to the data sharing requirements and the technical standards, there is a lot of work that banks can undertake.

Understanding your client needs both now in the future and the technological requirements that you will need to evaluate these solutions are work that you can undertake now. If you consider further that this is a technology you are building not just for now or for the delivery of PSD2, but also for the banking of the future, then this work becomes especially more critical.

How Netclearance Can Help

Mobile payments will undoubtedly feature strongly in the banking of the future. Fintech companies can get involved today by accepting mobile payments from smartphones and wearables outside the 'walled gardens' of Apple, Google and other NFC systems. Our next generation mobile payment beacon provides a compelling proposition for fintech companies and their customers.

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Why Your Mobile Wallet Strategy Must Include Customer Engagement

Mobile wallet use is expected to increase "more than a third by 2020" as more cell phone users adopt mobile payment tech. As brands begin honing their customer engagement strategies they are beginning to see increases in adoption and use. Here are some ways for financial institutions to leverage their existing platforms, increase engagement and stave off the competition of third-party fintech platforms.

Third-Party Competition

Paypal and Visa were the first to see mobile wallet use among their customers. Early on, users preferred Paypal and Visa over their banks' mobile offerings. The reason? Paypal and Visa were able to accommodate merchants and those merchants began offering digital loyalty cards, rewards, coupons and other incentives through the mobile wallet platform. Now banks are catching up and prioritizing customer engagement. By working in collaboration with merchant apps, FI mobile wallets are able to compete with digital-only organizations.

The Power of Existing Platforms

Once users are engaged with a certain mobile wallet it may be hard to convince them to switch. But there are several benefits to bank-centered mobile wallets. The first is security. Banks have higher standards, better encryption, and it makes sense to stay within the protected virtual walls of your preferred banking institution than continue on with mobile wallets with questionable security.

Other reasons to switch include: foreign currency exchange, the option to pay with or without a card, personal budgeting and peer-to-peer payments. In addition, banks have the ability to increase value-added services customized to their particular user base.

Educating consumers on the benefits of bank-centered mobile wallets should increase usage. Continued emphasis on customer engagement will keep those clients within a platform they already use and trust.

How Netclearance Can Help

Fintech companies can get involved today by accepting mobile payments from smartphones and wearables outside the 'walled gardens' of Apple, Google and other NFC systems. Click here for more information on how our next generation mobile payment beacon provides a compelling proposition for fintech companies.

Mobile Wallet Strategies for Financial Institutions

Mobile wallets are becoming more popular, yet many financial institutions are still relying on third-party solutions to get in on this trend. This is causing them to miss out on opportunities for branding and marketing. It also leaves some customer goodwill on the table since customers aren't strongly associating their banks with their mobile wallet.

Why Mobile Wallets are Superseding Credit and Debit Cards

For customers, mobile wallets bring both safety and convenience. Credit and debit card numbers can be intercepted when paying, but mobile wallets generate one-time keys that are useless once the transaction is complete. Therefore, even if the key number is "sniffed," it will do the criminal no good.

Mobile wallets are also more convenient since they reside on users' cell phones and other mobile devices. There's no need to fear losing a card, and most people remember to take their phones with them wherever they go. This makes it so users always have access to their money.

Why Banks Need to Catch This Wave with Branded Solutions

Companies that seem to be piggybacking on another business' technology are seen as being not quite ready for prime time, and this is bad for consumer confidence. Of course, the reality is that most companies don't have an in-house team of tech gurus. Instead, they choose solutions that allow them to put their own branding on the customer-facing parts.

Netclearance offers a great brandable solution for financial institutions. Choosing our platform allows them to overcome the hurdle of finding great IT talent to create one of their own. Since our solutions are brandable, end-users never see their institution's mobile wallets as being part of some bigger company like Apple. Our solution is currently in use at Danske Bank in Denmark as well as other major financial institutions, where it is providing real-world benefits to both the bank and its customers.

How Netclearance Can Help

Financial Institutions can get involved today by branding their own mobile wallet and accepting mobile payments from smartphones and wearables outside the 'walled gardens' of Apple, Google and other NFC systems. Click here for more information on how our next generation mobile payment beacon provides a compelling proposition for Financial Institutions.

IoT Technology Brings New Revenue Possibilities to your POS

With the recent technological advancements, the market has changed in form when it comes to buying and selling. With the use of money currency and the smart card being replaced by blockchain applications of payments, the retail market has evolved significantly to adapt to the developments. One of the devices that have brought significant change in the payment industry is the mBeaconSAM. By using Bluetooth connectivity and being compatible with the standard smart card, the mBeaconSAM provides location information and proximity payments hence increasing customer loyalty as it is a location-based application. What exactly are the benefits of using mBeaconSAM for the retailer?

Increased efficiency

The mBeaconSAM comes in a small chip that integrates with your card reader. With the chip, retailers can serve any customer with any card and enable customers to pay at their convenience without having to change the card reader to process different cards. By having a card reader that allows all payments, the retailer increases efficiency and can achieve more.

Increased convenience for your customer

Many customers do not like carrying money around. Having an alternative that requires them to have a mobile phone and a Bluetooth connection to make mobile payments increases convenience, and in turn translate into more future sales and increased customer loyalty.

Enhanced security of transactions

The mBeaconSAM comes with bank grade encryption such that your transaction with the customer is secure and safe. Information from their card and mobile interaction is secure such that no other party can access the information during transactions.

Affordable and easy to adopt

mBeaconSAM does not require a lot to set up. All you need is a card reader, Bluetooth enabled transmitters and a chip. After the setup of the infrastructure gets done, you embark on creating your tags and location information. You are ready to go since it comes in ready-to-use form.

How Netclearance Can Help

Mobile payments will undoubtedly feature strongly in the future. Retailers and Fintech companies can get involved today by accepting mobile payments from smartphones and wearables outside the 'walled gardens' of Apple, Google and other NFC systems. Click here for more information on how our next generation mobile payment beacon provides a compelling proposition for retailers and fintech companies.

mBeaconSAM - Small Chip Brings Huge Possibilities for the Payments Industry

mBeaconSAM - Fintech Innovation for Payments Acceptance

The first mobile OS application and terminal agnostic Security Access Module with BLE (Bluetooth LE) capabilities compatible with ISO 7816 Smart Card standard. The mBeaconSAM provides legacy and new payments terminal infrastructure with proximity payments, marketing and loyalty applications in a standard 2FF card form factor that seamlessly integrates with the card reader SAM slots.

Open Interface Accelerates Innovation

With a unified smart card API, an open SDK and BLE 5.0 capabilities, our mBeaconSAM adds IoT-like features to existing and new card reader infrastructure thus ushering a new era of mobile interactions between the payment infrastructure and smartphones, wearables and other devices. An open interface enables devices to connect with the POS via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) so that there is no more dependency on the walled gardens built by mobile device manufacturers or network operators and more data can be captured during the transaction.

Advanced Security

The mBeaconSAM with bank-grade encryption enables white-label mobile wallets and loyalty applications fully integrated with your card reader infrastructure without costly upgrades or impact to your PCI compliance.

How Netclearance Can Help

We can help enable your existing payment terminals to accept mobile payments from smartphones and wearables outside the 'walled gardens' of Apple, Google and other NFC systems. Click here for more information on how our next generation mobile payment beacon provides a compelling proposition for retailers and fintech companies.

Understanding PSD2 Impact on Payments Infrastructure

2018 is a game changer for retail banking as the PSD2 regulations become active. For those who have no idea what PSD2 is, well, PSD2 (Revised Payment Service Directive) enables both businesses and consumers to use third-party providers to manage their finances. In other words, soon, you will use Google or Facebook to pay your bills, analyze your spending, making P2P transfers while still safely moving your money into your current bank account.

This development will enable third parties to build financial services on top of banks. However, banks are still obligated through open APIs (Application Program Interface) to provide these third parties with access to their customer's accounts. PSD2 will have various impacts which may include:

Improved customer experience

The impact from PSD2 is significantly notable. For a professional indication on how the payments sector should operate, it will have long-term consequences for the broader banking sector. It will also grant opportunities for both existing banks and new start-ups to improve customer experience around financial decisions.

Architecting infrastructure

PSD2 will lie on top of a bank's existing banking applications and process API calls to and from account information service providers (AISPs) and payment initiative service providers (PISPs). These new divisions of the organization will replace the card schemes in managing requests for payment and reporting from customer accounts.

Security technology, and its perception

Naturally, for PSD2 to work, safety is always stronger than ever. Crucially, it is also tighter so as to solely to instill confidence in the open API process. PSD2 adds facial, voice, and retina recognition systems in addition to the already existing PIN and password codes. 

How Netclearance Can Help

Our next generation payment technology enables payment terminals to accept mobile payments from smartphones and wearables. Crucially it features enterprise security with crypto processor and memory enabling fintech companies to build more appealing and more secure value added services as a result of PSD2.

Contact Us to find out more.

APIs for Mobile Payments Will Streamline Brick-n-Mortar Retail Businesses

For brick-n-mortar retail businesses, sticking to traditional approaches in business will only edge them out of the competition. In the face of the stiff competition from online retailers and other businesses with web-enabled mobile services, brick-n-mortar businesses face a challenge to increase their sales.

Much brick-n-mortar retail has found a way to capitalize on the new technology by shifting focus on APIs for mobile payments to try to save their businesses. The method is easy; use mobile efficiencies to lure customers to your stall. So, what benefits lie in place for the industry?

Increased customer service efficiency

Mobile applications allow you to analyze a client’s big data that includes their shopping patterns, shopping behaviors and the like. By having information, you can help the customer in your store and engage them, hence making their shopping experience worthwhile and in turn increase the rate of customer retention.

Streamlined services and customer engagement

With mobile applications, customers can get information about your store promotions or new products on their cell phones and even place an order to come and pick up later. The mobile applications also give employees a platform to interact with the customer even when they are not in the store.

Increased shopping assistance

By integrating your prospective information with mobile applications, shopping for customers becomes a delightful journey since they know where to get what quick and easy. By having assisted shopping, customers save on time hence reduced stress, and that leads to the enhanced customer experience.

Paperless economy

Another benefit of mobile applications for brick-n-mortar retail is mobile payments. Many customers hate the idea of carrying money. Enabling use of mobile payments for your store makes shopping easier and safer for the customers.

PSD2 Impact on Mobile Payments

Recent revisions to the European Parliament's payment services directive 2, or PSD2, have businesspeople wondering what this means for the fintech (financial technology) industry. One of the most important changes is that it opens up new markets to companies that were previously excluded. In particular, it forces banks to make their accounts accessible to third parties such as payment initiation service providers.

This accessibility comes in the form of an API for payments. By using this, mobile payment providers can connect to bank accounts to process payments in a streamlined fashion. Such a method allows them to work with customers outside of the typical credit card acceptance networks.

How This Directive Can Affect People Outside of Europe

The PSD2 directive is unlike its predecessor because it activates even if just one of the involved parties has a European presence. Since many banks are multinational and have such a presence, they will be held to the new rules. While they may not be forced to offer the service in the United States, there is a good chance that some will go ahead and do so. Later, as with any technology that turns out to be a true upgrade, the practice will spread until it becomes ubiquitous.

How Can My Company Make Use of This Change?

One of the best ways is to get set up is to start with hardware meant to use the new system. Our Netclearance mBeaconPay hardware makes it easy to connect to a variety of alternative payment methods. Of course, our systems will also work with MasterCard and Visa if you choose to integrate with them, but such integration is not a technological requirement. Instead, you'll be able to hook into any institution that offers API access. Through this, you can set up your own payment acceptance network or join an existing one - all without paying the high costs associated with the big credit card networks.

Contact Us to find out more.

Mobile APIs for Payments: A Step Toward a Cashless Society?

Once again, science fiction is becoming a reality. Now, it's the cashless society that has made a big stride in this direction. Thanks to a convergence of technological advances and an EU directive, banks and other financial institutions are opening up to those who want to be able to transact with them via direct means. This makes it possible for people to electronically access their funds to make payments without the intervention of one of the big credit/debit clearinghouses.

For merchants, one of the big benefits of this change is that it allows them to reach the unbanked and underbanked in new ways. Cash can be put into merchant-sponsored accounts and then accessed by the customer's cell phone when it comes time to buy things. This saves customers from having to carry thief-attracting wads of cash when they go to the store. On the store's side, it increases loyalty since the store is where the cashless account is located. It also opens up the ability to offer special loyalty programs on top of the accounts themselves.

These benefits aren't limited to those who will not or cannot deal with regular banks. Loyalty and rebate programs work well with any segment of the population, and tying them to store-branded accounts gives customers even more incentive to do their shopping at the sponsoring store. Some large stores are already using programs of this nature.

Getting set up to deal with cashless payments is easy. All you need to do is get Netclearance's mBeaconPay system. This system does not require any connection to Visa or MasterCard to work, though these credit card processors may be added if desired. For private programs, it uses the new API for Payments technology. This technology allows the system to seamlessly hook up with local banks and other institutions. Best of all, customers don't have to stop and sign up with these banks to use the mBeaconPay cashless payment option. Everything is branded to your store to create a professional payment system that is simple for customers to use.

To learn more about mBeaconPay and how it will help catapult your company up to the next option in payments, just contact us. We'll be glad to explain everything.

Will Credit Cards Become a Thing of the Past?

Have you ever thought about how inefficient credit cards are? Probably not. As merchants we like to accept them in order to compete and as consumers we only see the advantages. After all, it's nice to be able to buy what we want, when we want it, without having to stop at the bank. But let's take a look at what's really happening when we use our credit cards.

Once you swipe your credit card, it goes into the store's system, through a sales organization and eventually to a payment processing network. From there, the transaction must go to the issuing bank for verification, then back to the merchant for processing. That's a long process, but unfortunately, it's not quite finished.

Once you, the consumer, have verified the transaction, it must go back to the issuing bank, who can then send the money through the processing network to the merchant's bank. There are actually 10 steps involved in getting the money from your credit card to the merchant's bank, and each step presents its own security risks. Add to that the fees associated with each step, and you can see that credit cards aren't really all they're cracked up to be. But there is an alternative.

At Netclearance, we have developed a system that allows consumers to make purchases using their smartphones and transferring the money directly into the merchant's bank account. It's called mBeaconPay. 

You may be thinking that this system isn't any different form other smartphone pay systems, but it is. Apple, Google and other existing pay systems are set up to work just like a credit card using the 10 step method to make a payment. mBeaconPay accomplishes the task in just three utilizing Bluetooth LE - a fast, secure and low power variant of the traditional Bluetooth technology, thereby cutting out the "middleman" and all the fees that go along with it. Contact us today to find out how you can incorporate this exciting, new technology into your business. 

The Impact of PSD2 on Buyers and Sellers

As PSD2 goes into effect, both service providers and consumers wonder what that means for them. PSD2 is an EU directive meant to regulate payment services and payment service providers throughout the European Union. Big credit card companies are upset because the regulations allow for direct access from merchant to consumer, bypassing them completely. But what does this mean for you, as a consumer and a merchant? Let's look at 4 main topics that PSD2 addresses.

Extension of Scope

The first major change is that PSD2 expands the reach of the original PSD regulation. Before, both parties had to be located within EU borders for the regulation to be applicable. But with the new regulation, only one party needs to be an EU member. PSD2 also broadens the definition of a "payment institution" to include more types and categories.

Third-party Access

The purpose of PSD2 is to level the playing field by opening access to external parties. Currently, we use a debit card or credit transfer to exchange money. Both of these services are provided by the bank, which means that the bank acts as the middleman in each transaction. It also means that they can charge whatever they want to act as the go-between. PDS2 allows a third-party to directly access the account, thereby bypassing the bank and its fees.

Prohibits Surcharges

Another area that PSD2 addresses is surcharges. In the past, each individual country imposed their own rules. The new regulation outlines a standardized approach and directs that no surcharge will be allowed for consumer cards affected by the Interchange Fee cap.

Security

Of course, there are risks involved with opening third-party access to accounts. PSD2 addresses those by introducing new security requirements, as well as new security challenges, to ensure the consumer is protected.

PSD2 is the regulation that allows consumers to transfer money directly to the merchant without a middleman. mBeaconPay can speed up the implementation of a new payment acceptance infrastructure that can take advantage of PSD2. Contact us today to find out how mBeaconPay can work for you.

Location of Things Technology Ensures You Never Lose Your Equipment Again

Has your company lost productive time simply because people couldn't find essential items for the job at hand? This situation is all too common in many factories and even offices. Over time, people take tools and inventory to random locations as their jobs require, but something comes up before the things can be returned to the proper place. Then, when they're needed again, your workers may have to spend minutes or even hours hunting them down before a task can be started.

Now, there is an easy way to prevent this scenario from happening. With Location of Things (LOT) technology, every item can be fitted with a beacon that tells your system its exact location. Work will then progress without a hitch - even if the needed materials were originally left hundreds of feet away from where they belonged.

Setting up such a system is easy when you combine our mBeacon BLE beacons with our mBeacon gateways. The beacons tell the gateways where they are, and the gateway then displays this information to those who need to have it. These people include you, your company's supervisors, project managers, and other such personnel. Once everything is set up, your employees will be able to find whatever they need just by asking their managers.

If your company routinely does jobs that require materials or tools to be moved around, you'll surely see major productivity improvements - and profit improvements - once your people aren't spending half the day trying to find things. To learn how easily you can implement our LOT solutions, just contact us. We'll be glad to help you get set up.

Increase Compliance and Productivity with Wearable Technologies

If there's anyone who knows where they can hide within your building, it's your employees. This knowledge is typically used to sneak some extra break time, but it can also be used for more nefarious purposes such as theft. Therefore, it's in your best interests to know where people in your company are during all of the time they're on duty.

This is just one of the ways you can use our new smart badge. It includes LOT (Location of Things) technology so that you can track each badge's location individually. As long as the badges are worn by the employees, this means you also know where they are. If some respond by taking their badges off before hiding themselves away, you can easily find out by checking the badge's location. You can then take the appropriate measures to prevent further policy breaches by that person.

Once this is done, you are likely to find that productivity increases. It'll no longer be easy to slack off without being noticed, so actual work time will grow.

This is just one of the ways our mBeaconCard badge will help your company. Another popular use for the technology is to monitor workers' speed as they use in-facility vehicles like forklifts and electric cars. You'll easily be able to spot dangerous speed demons just by how fast the dots that represent them move on your screen. Then, corrective measures can be taken to improve safety practices.

To learn more about mBeaconCard and our related LOT technologies, just contact us. We'll be glad to advise you on how you can use it to improve your operations.