Tag Archives: bpay

mobile wallet

$500 million Processed Through Mobile Wallets in [2023 Update]

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U.S. consumers spent over $500 million through mobile wallets on their smartphones last year. While this is miniscule as compared to the overall merchant services industry, where trillions of dollars that are spent annually through plastic credit and debit cards, it does signal a growing trend in the industry. Mobile wallet apps have experienced slow adoption rates in the U.S. but are projected to grow. According to Berg Insight, the industry could reach $35 billion annually by 2017.

While this figure still is just a fraction of the overall payment processing industry, it is a technology that as consumers adopt they will start to expect the infrastructure in any store they wish to spend money in. This presents a problem for small-businesses. For one, the physical machines can be expensive and require complicated installation. Some systems might not integrate into existing POS terminals at all. In addition to the implementation hurdles, policies must be formed to train staff on the procedures of actually taking a payment.

A short time ago, HMS announced a partnership with Barclays US to get the word out about the bPay mobile wallet initiative. bPay is a mobile wallet that has been initially rolled out in the Wilmington and Newark areas of Delaware. In the initial rollout, Host and bPay are looking for small and medium-sized businesses that are interested in being setup to take payments via the customer’s smartphone and a QR code that is presented on the POS system. In addition to the time savings offered, the platform also supports mobile marketing features such as SMS text and in app advertising.

Some merchants wonder why they should implement a solution like this if taking plastic cards isn’t broken. The answer is that in reality, the consumer is king. And because of stores like Starbucks, which has a mobile wallet integrated into their mobile app, paying with your smartphone is creeping into mainstream culture. As the industry continues to grow consumers will want to buy more than just coffee on their iPhone. Forward thinking merchants that want to stay ahead of the curve should look to implement a solution now as to not fall behind.

Businesses that are interested in learning more about getting setup to accept bPay transactions should give our payment experts a call at 877-517-4678 today!

bPay Gaining Momentum in Newark, Wilmington

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In the last update regarding the bPay mobile wallet initiative we covered the fact that Host Merchant Services is now partnered with Barclays to grow the adoption of this very innovative and versatile form of payment.

To recap…

bPay is a two pronged application that benefits both businesses and consumers. Merchants can market to consumers with compelling offers directly through the application and SMS marketing. They also have the added value to accept credit cards through a mobile wallet and contactless payment terminal.

Consumers get the convenience of a secure mobile wallet and weekly deals from local businesses. These exclusive offers are just that, exclusive. They are only offered through the bPay app and can only be redeemed by paying with the app as well. They also have the ability to load all of their credit cards into their wallet so that they have the flexibility to pay with many different accounts and not just locked into one.

Now what?

With the previous successes in Wilmington near downtown and Lower Market Street and a strong presence on Main Street and near the UD campus in Newark, Barclays is looking for the next area that is poised to grow and adopt the bPay system to engage and benefit both businesses and consumers alike. One area that both HMS and the team at Barclays believe would benefit the most is the Trolley Square neighborhood. Trolley has a dense concentration of businesses that fit the bPay mobile wallet profile.

Businesses and customers both benefit from the increased speed of bPay transactions. For the business, there is no need for the cashier to swipe a card, verify ID, print out a receipt and get a signature. Multiply this over the course of hundreds of transactions a day and the time savings is huge.

For the customer, the time savings is minimal but the focus is more around convenience. The ability to choose which card he would like to pay with by just a few taps on his smartphone and then quickly scanning the barcode. This eliminates the need to dig in his pocket to fish out his George Castanza wallet and then try and find which card to use.

The bottom line here is that mobile payments and more specifically mobile wallets like bPay clearly have added value for both consumers and business owners alike. The technology and adoption is no longer the fledgling product of just a few years ago and moving forward is only going to grow. That makes right now an ideal time for businesses and consumers to adopt the system.

For businesses in the Wilmington and Newark, DE area that are interested in getting more information please email us at admin@hostmerchantservices.com.