Testing of Mobile Payments • ITCRS

OBS! Outdated article.

Big test of Mobile Payments by mobil.se

The magazine Mobil has conducted a test of mobile payments.

Many people talk about mobile payments, but it can be difficult to understand the difference between all the apps that are launched and improved at a fast pace. We have tried to see which one really works best.

We've heard it for years: Mobile phones to replace cash and debit cards. But it's only now that the battle for your wallet is starting to take off.. In the second half of the 2012 Swedish stores and e-commerce venues began offering the payment of services and goods via mobile. Competition is already fierce between the various solutions. The apps developed also reflect a battle going on in the background over which technology is best suited for mobile payments, in particular QR codes and nfc but also traditional sms. Technology choice affects your in-store and online experience, but also how fast a particular app can spread depending on how much money a store or webshop has to invest in order to receive mobile payments. This affects how quickly you can expect to use the app in a store near you.. So far, an app has succeeded best in spreading its solution and it is seqr. However, the market is far from at a standstill and Payair and Wywallet also hope to be rolled out in more and more stores and on the web through collaborations with cash registers.- and payment service companies.

We've looked at the apps that let you pay for in-store items, vending machines and on e-commerce sites: Wywallet, SEQR, Payair, Bart and Selecta buypp. Among other things, we have reviewed the service offering, the processing of personal data and Security, ease of use including interfaces as well as how many stores and webshops allow you to pay with them and on which phones you can download the app. As any fees may occur, we have also included the. Most apps have additional features in addition to store payment but the test mainly looks at how good the apps are at paying in-store and webshop.
Scan, swiping or texting

The purpose of the apps is the same – to let you pay via mobile – although some apps offer additional features, for example, money transfer between private individuals, cash card replenishment or give you special offers. Technology differs between apps, with QR code as the most common technology choice. seqr, Payair and Bart have chosen to use QR codes while Wywallet uses the contactless technology nfc (Near Field Communication) as well as SMS. Selecta only uses SMS. There are different advantages to the different techniques. The advantage of QR codes is, among other things, that you only need your phone and a mobile data connection to send and receive the transaction details. Since nfc does not support most phones, the Wywallet app requires you to connect it with a special RFID sticker (Radio Frequency Identification), sticker that you need to attach to the back of your phone or to the inside of the battery cover. qr codes, scan with your phone while you only need to swipe your phone towards the payment terminal when paying with nfc technology.

The technicians are almost as fast., it is mainly other features of the apps as well as how fast the app is that makes a difference. For example, it's about how much you need to do yourself., how quickly you get the payment function and the purchase confirmation, how good your purchase history is or how many different payment methods you have to pay for your purchases, i.e. by invoice, bank account, card or mobile bill. Not entirely unimportant for usability is also the number of outlets where you can use the app. When it comes to sms, there is a great practical advantage: You can use anywhere on any phone.. The main disadvantage is that you have to enter text or numbers and then wait for a confirmation. Thus, QR codes and NFC feel superior, with the exception of Bart's QR solution, which also requires you to manually enter data at each. Security and fees also differ significantly. My advice is that you read the terms of use to feel confident about where your payment liability starts and ends if you lose your phone or if any unauthorized transaction should be recorded.. There isn't an app that's best at all points.: seqr is available at most stores and e-commerce sites, Wywallet offers the most payment methods, Bart is the only app that doesn't require a mobile data connection while Payair lets you avoid the entry of shipping data on the web. Selecta is the only app that uses map services to identify the nearest shopping points (Vending machines).

Paypal's app allows you to pay for goods and services via mobile, for example, when you want to pay for a purchase you made on Blocket. However, the solution is more similar to Swish, the big banks' newly launched app for transferring money between private individuals. We have therefore chosen not to review the app in this test. However, it is worth mentioning that PayPal see rapid growth in these types of payments and they offer mobile payment solutions similar to those we reviewed in other markets., But not in Sweden. We have also excluded Izettle, because the solution is that the merchant is offered a mobile payment solution while you make your purchase with a regular bank card, Not with the phone.
Here you can pay with your phone.

As I said, there will be more, but so far, there isn't an app that you can use anywhere or a store where you can pay with any mobile payment app. Nor is there a technology or business model that has established itself as the winning concept. In addition, it is likely that there will be more features in the existing apps, that some apps are merged and that in the future there will be more players in the market. At present, only one of the five tested apps – Payair – supports Windows Phone, and two more – Wywallet and SEQR – who plan to do so soon. If you want to pay with your phone, it is mainly the iPhone or Android that applies. Two of the apps – Wywallet and Selecta – allow you who have a traditional phone to use SMS payment features.

If you rarely use cash, it becomes surprisingly quickly natural to take out your phone to pay. What makes you still need your wallet has mainly to do with getting places to receive mobile payments, although the number has increased at a rapid pace since the second half of the 2012. Those who were the earliest out with a mobile payment app – Wywallet and Swedbank's Bart – are not necessarily the ones that you will find today in the most stores or e-commerce sites. The app that is in most places today is seqr, with approximately 500 shops and webshops, Including some McDonald's and 380 Home shopping shops. You can pay with Payair on a dozen webshops, such as Siba and Webbhallen. The company plans to launch in-store services in the near future, in cooperation with cash register company Cashit. It is unclear exactly when and in how many places.

Wywallet's payment via SMS replaces the mobile operators' previous pay-SMS and can be used today to pay for purchases from more than 1 000 sms merchants around Sweden, for example, parking meters or charities, as well as for tickets when traveling with Skånetrafiken. It works with all the numbers that start with 72, that is, all payment numbers. However, when it comes to payment online and in store, few merchants have joined Wywallet so far.; there is a single pilot project in the Beijing8 restaurant in Stockholm and a few webshops. Through a collaboration with cash registers- and payment service company Point, however, Wywallet plans to roll out store payments as they replace old terminals with new ones that support nfc. Selecta köppp you can use today in 300 vending machines and the company expects to offer the app payment in 600 vending machines in the Nordic region at the end of the year. Swedbank's Bart, who was among the first with a store pilot, I'm last to the party. The bank has an agreement with Axfood, which is behind Hemköp, but has so far only driven one pilot in three Hemköps stores. The sharp launch is scheduled for the end of February, with an updated app. According to the bank, there will be no Windows Phone app ready until. However, as Mobil revealed in January, Swedbank plans to allow other banks' card customers to join Bart. The question is when the rollout will start for real and whether the store customers will use Bart, which is far from the most user-friendly app we have tested.
Use of personal data

It is possible to use all different payment solutions at different times, in the same way that you might use a mix of sms, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger for your instant messages. However, in the case of payments, you must be prepared to provide different types of personal data to the apps and in some cases even agree that the app allows third parties to, different partners of the payment services, use the data for marketing purposes. Payair, Seamless and Wywallet are among those who demand it. However, the latter chose to change its terms after much negative media attention. As of the 1 February, the company does not provide your personal data to any third party, If you have not given explicit consent. However, when you will have the opportunity to give this consent is unclear. For users who registered before then, the new terms and conditions will apply on 1 april. When you create an account, you also agree that your carrier will provide information about you to Wywallet.

The information you provide includes social security numbers, telephone number, home address, card number or a credit report, but also detailed information about your purchases, When and where you implemented them, that is, your purchase history. If you would like to receive offers that are tailored to you, it may be good to let the companies use your data. However, in addition to electronic messages, you may also receive other types of messages, e.g. email or mail. The biggest problem in all cases is that you have little control over how your data is used and don't get to choose whether you want to or don't want to agree to it directly in the apps.. You can request that companies do not use your data for marketing purposes, but this requires you to contact the companies in writing and request the change.. The same applies if you want to know how your data is handled. Seamless allows you once a year to access the information they have about you free of charge. With Wywallet, you can say no to the use of your data when it comes to direct marketing by sending a letter to the company. If you want to know what information your mobile operator provides to Wywallet, you must, Once more, Send a letter to your carrier. You have the right to do so once per calendar year. It would be a great step forward if it was possible to have better control over personal data and, for example, be able to deny or limit its use directly in the app..