Three Ways LoT - Location of Things Can Benefit Hospitality Providers

Resorts and hotels have many moving parts – guests checking in and out, bags being moved, and food getting served. Every hour of every day, guests are in their rooms, or lounging in the resort spa, restaurant, bar, or poolside. There are many ways that premiere resorts can benefit by implementing LoT - Location of Things technology into their services.

• LoT - Location of Things Systems Help Guests: The grounds of your resort are foreign to many of your guests. Unless they have been there before, many guests may feel overwhelmed by the size and scope of a high-end resort. LoT systems can help guests navigate resort grounds without ever feeling lost. LoT systems can help guests plan their day better by telling them how far the spa is from their room, as well as things like how many guests are currently at the spa and if there is a wait time. 
• LoT - Location of Things Systems Help Staff Stay Productive: LoT systems are helpful in assisting staff with locating rooms and areas of the resort that require their attention without delay. With Location of Things technology staff can even locate specific guests anywhere on the grounds with ease. LoT systems support orderly rest and meal breaks, as well as effortless clocking in and out.
• LoT - Location of Things Systems Make Guest Services Seamless: Guests can order services to meet them in their room, poolside, in the lounge or spa or wherever they are on the resort grounds. If they need help figuring out if they have time to visit the pool before dinner, they can map how long it will take them to get from their room to the pool and from the pool to the dining hall. If guests need help, they can quickly call for the nearest staff member with the push of a button or look on a map to see where the closest staff members are near them.

Other hotels have already implemented Location of Things systems to assist with personnel and guest monitoring. Netclearance is the premiere provider of solutions and information for implementing LoT - Location of Things systems into your resort's offerings.

LoT - Location of Things Technology Aids in Hospital Patient Care.

The face of medical treatment is changing and LoT - Location of Things is at the heart of it.

A quick explanation: The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to things connected to the internet, laptops, I-pads, cell phones, vehicles, people, even appliances. The location of things, or LoT tells you where those things are in real time.

In a hospital setting this will have many applications. Hospitals will know the location of specialized equipment, hospital beds and wheelchairs. Medications can also be tracked. An inventory of the supplies that keep a hospital running will always be available. More importantly, hospitals will know the location of doctors, nurses, other staff, patients, and visitors.

Active RFID tagging is an ID system that uses small radio frequency identification devices for identification and tracking purposes. They are capable of receiving, storing and transmitting digital information. 

A patient bracelet or badge with an active RFID tag, will not only give the location of a patient, but all the information on medications and treatments. At birth a baby might wear a bracelet with an RFID tag. All the information about the child will be on the tag. With LoT the location of the baby is always known.

A medic alert bracelet with an RFID tag, will let a doctor know the minute that a person wearing a medic alert enters the hospital. RFID tags will also alert the attendant or EMS when the patient is in, or near, a properly equipped ambulance, possibly leading the ambulance to the correct location after a 911 call.

IoT and LoT are changing not only medical treatment, but the world. Please contact Netclearance for information on LoT technology and how it can change your world. Visit us at RFID Journal Live in Orlando, Fl, May 3-5 Booth #728B

LoT - Location of Things - Pinning Down The Internet Of Things

Knowing the location of things (LOT) completes the picture for enterprises that exploit the world of the Internet of things (IOT) as part of their business processes. Combining IoT and LoT gives the fine-grained insights that only coalesce as the big picture on the larger scale. When you have a geospatial understanding of your connected devices, it adds the final piece of the puzzle of your operations.

Where Are Your Connected Devices?

The Internet of things connects remote digital devices that share sensor data and sometimes offer automation features. The IoT ties everything together via the Internet to gain valuable business intelligence from all of the data transmitted by the device.

Geo-location information systems are Big Data applications that deliver floods of valuable business intelligence. LoT is the technology that makes this possible businesses of all sizes. Adding a smart beacon tracker to each connected device puts it into an information matrix from which you can find patterns by applying visual analytics.

Necessary And Sufficient Data Integration

The IoT provides necessary solutions for enterprises with dispersed assets, but that is not enough to give you accurate real-time intelligence by itself. Users need to know about the state of devices, the sensor measurements that they provide and the locations from which they report. By tracking these three factors in real-time companies can apply the kind of Big Data analytics that delivers true insight and reveals hidden opportunities.

Fine-Grain Data And The Value Of Big-Picture Patterns

Companies competing in industry segments that use the IoT will get improved business intelligence from LoT applications. Many segments are now using Big Data to make smarter decisions and creating competitive advantages.

In diverse fields such as agriculture and supply chain management, the ability to use fine-grain geospatial information is revolutionizing the way that businesses draw conclusions from data and make decisions. Real-time tracking and location solutions for logistics, healthcare, workforce-management are paving the road for a smart IoT infrastructure.

Netclearance Solutions Complete The Picture

Netclearance puts this capability into the hands of the enterprise. The location tagging technology that put your assets on the map will give you levels of understanding and abilities to forecast future trends that have never been possible for you before. Visit us at RFID Journal Live in Orlando, Fl, May 3-5 Booth #728B to see the latest trends and solutions in LoT.

The Value of LoT - Location of Things Technology in Retail

Retailers today are looking for effective ways to streamline operations and increase revenue per square footage. By using state-of-the-art wireless sensor technology are able:

• To see which products and locations in your store are most popular?
• To know which marketing displays are most effective?
• To learn how long customers typically wait in line at different times of day?
• To have your customers pay quickly and easily?
• To know if enough employees are available to help customers?
• To know when your employees arrive, where they are in the store, and when they leave?

For retailers this sounds like a dream come true, but with LoT - Location of Things it can be reality. LoT combines location with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices such as smartphones, smart badges, shelf sensors, merchandise sensors.

LoT allows retail businesses to track and communicate with customers, then accept payment for merchandise from a mobile wallet. With LoT you also know how often a customer shops at your store. If you have a customer loyalty program, you will no longer need to stamp or scan cards. If you have a tourist based business, you will be able to see if your customers are from out of town.

LoT can tell you when an employee enters and leaves your business, no more punching a time clock. You know if your employee is on the sales floor, at the cash register, or in the stock room.

Using active and passive RFID technology you can track sales and inventory. Not only you will know if an item is in stock, but where that item is in your store. You can easily keep track of when sales happen, which employees really sell products.

Best of all, now retailers can do all this, and even more, remotely. LoT - Location of Things, will take retail business operations to a new level and Netclearance can help you get there. Contact us to learn how LoT solutions can be applied to your retail operations.

Visit us at RFID Live on May 3 - 5, 2016 Booth 728B  Orange County Convention Center in
Orlando, Florida and discover what LoT can mean for your business.

LoT - Location of Things the Real Value Behind IoT

The world of technology is, at its most basic level, a human-driven phenomena. As such, it’s subject to all the psychological foibles of our species. One of these is known colloquially as the “wow factor.” It refers to how those who first hear of a new advancement become excited at its sheer ingenuity and novelty. Their initial reaction is, “wow; that’s cool!” It’s only after the excitement fades that someone says, “Hey, what good is this thing anyway?”

The “wow factor” has played a major role in the public’s perception of the soon-coming Internet of Things or IoT. There’s something about the idea of a world made up of objects all linked together that resonates with people on a primal level. Perhaps the concept appeals to our innate sense of oneness with all creation. Perhaps not. Either way, the prospect of an interconnected society has some people saying, “Great! Now what do we do with it?” That’s where LoT - Location of Things comes into the picture.

LoT refers to the ability to locate and monitor all types of things in real time. The advantages of this capability are immense. Take for example networks. Whether they're used to transfer information, energy, goods, or human beings, networks are essential to modern life. When they break down, the consequences can range from minor inconvenience to life-threatening emergencies.

This is where LoT proves so useful. It enables personnel to monitor all types of networks of things for signs of trouble. In the event something goes wrong, it guides them to the exact point of failure. It can even give them vital information about the nature of the breakdown, speeding repairs and minimizing problems.

Needless to say, this technology has enormous potential for making the world a safer, more secure place in which to live. At Netclearance, we have developed pioneering LoT capabilities that can benefit your organization in multiple ways. Contact us today to find out more.

Visit us at RFID Live on May 3 - 5, 2016 Booth 728B  Orange County Convention Center in
Orlando, Florida (www.rfidbeacons.com)

Financial Institutions Mobile Wallet Strategies Flailing at Best

Mobile-savvy customers around the world are just waiting for the right mobile wallet to show up. With a cell phone in the hand of virtually every account holder, now is the time for financial institutions to corner the market. Everyone wants immediate access to their financials, and as research from Javelin indicates, many people are no longer selecting their financial institution as first choice. PayPal and Visa have attracted consumer attention as well as won over customers from their primary financial institution. 

Deemed the Wallet Wars, it is not that customers wouldn't prefer to use a wallet created by their financial institution; relationships are key to securing and maintaining users of a particular mobile wallet. Now is the time for banks to designate specific attention to providing a mobile wallet their clients will use. 

At best, many banks are relying on these third parties (Apple, Google, Samsung, PayPal) to provide a mobile wallet solution; however, this may not be the best approach. According to one site, 

Issuers whose only mobile-payment aspirations are to integrate with third-party wallets are putting themselves in a highly precarious situation. As these wallets scale, bank customers will become increasingly entrenched and weighed down by the ecosystem pull commanded by the likes of Apple and Google. Worse, they will begin to associate commerce-enablement not with the bank that issued their card, but with the technology vendor whose brand wraps the application they use.

Branding is essential in all corporate endeavors. Financial institutions must remain astute in their approach to mobile wallets as our society is entrenched in cashless transactions. Instead of allowing third parties to profit from current customers, it is time for financial institutions to use their existing customer relationships and create a mobile wallet with their name on it.

Netclearance offers products, a plan, and the technology that is synonymous with the mobile wallet. As consumers choose to pay daily using their cell phones at various vendors, it is time for financial institutions to extend their arm of influence and corner this market. Facilitated by mBeaconPay technology, Netclearance eliminates the middle man so common in these transactions and offers a streamlined system between only the customer, the merchant, and the bank. 

Now is the time to put your name in the palm of every customer's hand. 

Understanding LoT - Location of Things - The Killer IoT App

There is currently much hype surrounding IoT, or the Internet of Things. IoT refers to the integration of internet-based technology into every-day items, such as wristwatches and other jewelry, key chains, home appliances, pets and almost anything. A less popular buzzword, but one that is essential for understanding how IoT adds value to an organization, is LOT -- the Location of Things.

Location of Things technology spans the area of identifying where IoT devices are located in relation to their origins, destinations or other adjacent devices. What is the value of sensors capturing identity, environmental data, and status among other things if the consumer of this data doesn't have the contextual location information to give this data some meaning.

By adding "context" to the billions of location-aware sensors and devices that will be part of the IoT ecosystem it will open up unlimited  opportunities to enhance customers’ experience, improve service quality, margins and reduce operational expenses across a wide range of industry verticals and the public sector. 

There are several enablers to LoT such as:

• LPWA (Low-Power Wide-Area) networks that allow a mass market for low-cost long-range low-power connected network of objects. Analysts forecast that there will be 2.7 billion LPWA connections by 2022. 
• Indoor positioning thanks to proximity context-aware devices like Wi-Fi, UWB, Mesh and BLE-beacons.

So get ready for a much wider usage of the term LoT. In the near future, Location of Things will help bring "context" to the "who" and "what" provided by the billions of IoT nodes and sensors that will populate our planet over the next decades to come.

Netclearance has been developing LoT technology and solutions since its inception for a multitude of industrial and consumer applications with the goal to add value to your IoT applications. Contact us to learn more about our IoT location gateways, readers and sensor nodes that can bring "context" to your IoT atmosphere.

Visit us at RFID Live on May 3 - 5, 2016 Booth 728B  Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida (www.rfidbeacons.com)

IoT Payments Solutions Overcome Traditional Card Terminal Boundaries

IoT payments are the wave of the future when it comes to exchanging currency. According to LetsTalkPayments.com, new apps, operating systems, and hardware are being developed to accommodate this trend: "Internet of Things is attractive for fintech, not only for software and hardware developers, but also for banks and other FinTech companies to enable innovative payment experiences and provide wide range of methods to accept payments using NFC chips, payment apps, sensors, tracking devices, etc."

Indeed, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and other credit card and banking companies are all jumping on the bandwagon, racing to implement Internet of Things payment services. In particular, they are targeting wearable and carry-able devices, such as watches and key chains, thus appealing to costumers' senses of fashion and sleek design. For example, an October, 2015, article in Mobile Payments Today states that "MasterCard announced at the Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas that its initial partners in this endeavor include fashion designer Adam Selman, automotive giant General Motors, wearable technology company Nymi, smart jewelry company Ringly and Bluetooth locator TrackR."

Beyond fashion, safety and security are key benefits of the new technology. According to an August, 2015, blog on Transfirst.com, "In the payment space, the Internet of Things is evident in digital wallets that securely store a user’s payment information and passwords, enabling consumers to use an electronic device to make transactions." Such devices will keep passwords secure while their owners carry their "digital wallets" on their wrists and in their purses and briefcases.

So get ready to join the wave of the future with IoT payments. You will join a growing number of businesses accepting payments from wearables, garments, motor vehicles, and mobile devices.

Netclearance offers a complete portfolio of IoT gateways and end devices to implement your IoT payment strategy. Contact us to learn more.

Branded Mobile Wallets Help Retailers Boost Customer Loyalty and Reduce Transaction Costs

Branded mobile wallets are the wave of the future because they help companies give their customer loyalty a boost. First, they offer a quick and convenient method of keeping track of customer loyalty programs. Second, they offer an easy payment method. Third, they keep customers engaged in the brand experience through the use of a payment app.

Starbucks is an example of a company currently boasting a successful branded mobile wallet, as noted by a December, 2015, article in Mobile Payments Today. Their loyalty program, familiar to almost all their regular customers, is made even more accessible by their payment app, which automatically keeps track of when they will receive their next free beverage. 

The Starbucks app also offers its customers the convenience and security of paying on their mobile device. To use it, customers simply hold their phone up to the scanner as they check out. In addition, this method of payment is only accessible through their mobile device, which can be locked and coded via password or thumbprint, ensuring the security of the payment process.

Finally, the Starbucks branded mobile wallet makes certain that customers maintain consistent contact with the Starbucks experience, since they access payment and loyalty program points through the Starbucks app. This way Starbucks customers remain "in the know" regarding new promotions and other changes to the Starbucks experience, without having to deal with a third-party app. This substantially increases customer loyalty to the brand.

As noted above, the Starbucks branded mobile wallet has been most successful in today's increasingly app-minded society. Mobile Payments Today tells us that 16 million customers use the mobile wallet app, accounting for 21 percent of Starbucks transactions. Other companies, such as Wal-Mart and Target, are now following suit with their own branded mobile wallets.

Our very own mBeaconPay smart payment technology, which works with and operates on a wide variety of POS and smartphones, allows customers and retailers to exchange payment information in a quick and efficient manner via a branded mobile wallet.

So next time you get a coffee or even head toward the check-out counter at your local department store, get ready for quick and easy payment with your mobile device. You'll be joining a growing number of people who enjoy the same convenience.

Cryptocurrencies Spreading in Canadian Retail

Cryptocurrencies in retail are becoming more practical as a payment form with new businesses accepting and now even selling bitcoin every year. 

Canadian bitcoin users now have an additional 6,000 retail locations to purchase their favorite cryptocurrency, according to CryptoCoinNews.

As bitcoin transactions continue to expand, more and more consumers are looking for easy and practical ways to purchase bitcoins. 

Thanks to bitcoin ATM maker BitAccess, Canadian consumers have access to a new bitcoin purchasing method. 

BitAccess is based in Ottawa, and this week they detailed how customers will be able to purchase bitcoin at 6,000 retail locations. They'll do so with a ‘Flexipin’ voucher. The vouchers can be purchased with cash or a payment card, and they'll work like a gift card. 

BitAccess said Flexipin is a "prepaid voucher that lets you top-up your accounts to make secure, hassle-free online payments. Because Flexepin are prepaid, the risk of having your identity and banking information exposed online is eliminated."

After a customer buys the Flexipin voucher from a cashier, they'll be given a receipt. Sixty seconds later, that receipt can be redeemed for the cash equivalent of the cryptocurrency that was purchased. 

Flexipin vouchers will be sold in denominations of $10, $30, $50, $100 and $250.

BraveNewCoin reported that although purchases can be made anonymously, customers will need to have a BitAccess web account in order to redeem their coins. 

BitAccess has also implemented a purchase cap of $250 worth of the cryptocurrency each day. 

To redeem bitcoins after purchase, customers just need to log into their BitAccess account and type the code printed on their Flexipen voucher they received from their cashier. 

More retailers are beginning to accept bitcoin payments, and if your business is seeking a way to accept bitcoins, look no further than Netclearance's own mBeaconPay technology. The mBeaconPay platform integrates with cash registers, enabling them to process bitcoin transactions.

If you're interested in learning more about our mBeaconPay technology, please contact us.

How to Develop an Effective Mobile Loyalty Program with Smart Beacons

So you have decided to jump at the idea of starting a mobile loyalty program for your business, now what?  What are the next steps you should take?  How will you go about creating your program?  We shall provide answers to these questions for you now.

Come Up With a Plan

First answer the question, "will it be geared toward individual consumers or businesses?  This is an important factor to ponder.  You will need to tailor your program to the type of clients you are aiming to attract.  It is possible to cater to both, individuals AND businesses.  In that case, you would likely want to develop two separate programs to accommodate the specific needs of each type of patron.

What Features Will You Include?

It is important for you to plan what features you want to include in your loyalty program.  For instance, will repeat customers earn points toward their reward?  Do you have another plan in mind for how they go about accumulating credits for their purchases? 

After you decide this, you must figure out what form the reward itself will take.  Will it be a deeply discounted item or a free one?  Will there be a monetary limit to what that offer can be applied to?  Will there be any kind of limit on how often rewards can be redeemed?  These are all necessary features to decide upon before you hire somebody to develop your program.

Sound Advice for Creating Your Program

First, it is advisable to make a list of everything you want to include in your loyalty program.  This will be the basis of the program so do not leave anything out, write down all details.

The most critical aspect of this whole loyalty thing is to hire the right company to design your program.  Netclearance can guide you every step of the way.  With smart beacon loyalty solutions like Bounty you want to ensure you keep customers returning to your business.

Headless ATM - Reduce Fraud and Crime with Smart Beacons

Headless ATMs are gaining ground quickly in the US and are projected to continue to gain ground over the next 18 months. These are ATMs that do not require a debit or credit card; instead the ATM communicates directly with banking customers' smart phones. Banking customers simply log on to their banking app, request the amount of cash they would like to receive, and walk up to the ATM and scan their phones to retrieve their cash.

With the popularity of both ATM use and ATM crime running rampant, banks anticipate that the new headless ATMs will cut down significantly the number of fraudulent transactions and ATM crimes. According to an article in pymnts.com, "U.S. consumers made 5.8 billion ATM withdrawals in 2012, totaling $687 billion, according to a study released last year by the Federal Reserve." Meanwhile, a separate article in pymnts.com reports that, "All in, $1.7 billion was lost to general-purpose debit, prepaid and ATM fraud totaled in 2014, according to the Federal Reserve." Most of this loss was related to bank cards, with criminals placing cameras or scanners in or near card readers and using the gleaned information to create false cards.

Most of the new ATMs do not even have screens or key pads. There will, however, be an identity recognition device present in the ATM, as explained in phys.org: "Customers need only verify their identity, which can be done with the device's fingerprint reader, or possibly with an iris scanner on the ATM."

So in the near future, when you prepare to extract cash from your local ATM, you will want to make sure you have your phone with you for a quicker and safer transaction.

Netclearance offers a complete suite of proximity devices like mBeaconPay and mBeaconAccess to easily enable headless transactions in ATMs.

Nordic Countries Becoming Cashless Societies?

Denmark and Sweden are on the way to becoming Cashless Societies in coming years. In another post this blog addressed recent news in Denmark, where they are considering legislation that would allow select benefits to refuse cash payments.

Now, Sweden has taken another step to make cash less of a necessity and more of a burden. Their banks are making it harder for Swedes to hold onto cash. 

The Sverige Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, recently decided to keep its benchmark interest rate at -0.35%. The banks they lend to actually lose out by holding onto the money. Retail banks have not yet imposed negative interest rates, but they might. The cost of that negative interest lending has to be soaked up or passed on to businesses and individuals. 

Swedish retail banks are encouraging people to move away from cash in other ways. Swedish banks have also started to remove cash ATMs in rural areas. If people aren't using much cash, they must not need the ATMs. This move roughly corresponds with a drop in the amount of cash in circulation. 

A Business Insider article reports that the value of paper Kronor in circulation has dropped, from about 100 billion in 2009 to around 80 billion in 2014.

In a relatively cash-free Sweden citizens will have to either spend money or let the bank take it, in the form of negative interest. They'll likely spend their money, electronically, spurring economic growth. 

In short, Sweden is using less and less cash in an environment. Negative interest rates are a reality for banks and a real possibility for businesses and individuals.

Netclearance at Retail Business Technology Expo 2016

Netclearance at Retail Business Technology Expo 2016

On March 9th, we will be attending the annual Retail Business Technology Expo at the Olympia in London. The event is a great place for retailers from all areas of the industry to come and learn about all the latest tech and services that can help them to increase productivity, reduce costs and improve the customer experience. It is the ideal place to keep up to date with all the latest solutions, tools and tactics.

We will be showcasing our mBeaconPay technology and our CEO David Fernandez will also be hosting a speaking session, ‘Creating a cashless society – disruptive technology for the retail payments sector’ at 13:15 on 9th March in the Payments Theatre.

During the speaker session, David will share his insights into the roll-out of the mobile payments system that has revolutionised payments in major supermarkets and fast food outlets in Denmark and Norway. He will also discuss how the highly disruptive technology takes transactions direct from bank to retailer, not only changing the value chain by removing merchant fees, acquirers and PSPs from the fee structure, but also enhances security as there is less chance of fraud or error.

We will also be exhibiting our complete range of proximity beacon technology, including BLE, WiFi and RFID sensors, for proximity marketing, real-time tracking, customer engagement and Business Intelligence on stand 124. We will demonstrate how beacons for mobile payments and proximity marketing for retailers, banks and merchants can be combined and used for coupons and loyalty schemes.

 For more information or to arrange an interview with David Fernandez, CEO of Netclearance contact Bright Bee PR: Netclearance@brightbee.co.uk or on 020 8819 3170.

New Payment Technology Helps Banks Catch up with Third-Party Mobile Wallets

When consumers prepare to pay for purchases these days, a growing number of them are whipping out their phones instead of their wallets. Mobile payment apps have added a new and convenient way for people to pay for goods and services. As these digital wallets gain market traction, banks could find themselves in trouble. Conventional ways of payment -- and the revenue that they produce for banks -- are falling by the wayside. 

When consumers pay by swiping a payment card, banks make money through the fees that are attached to each transaction. Transactions completed through mobile payment services such as Venmo, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay are now eating into that bank revenue. There are more players entering the space.According to Bloomberg News, Walmart, Starbucks and even Chevron gas stations are working on plans for their own digital wallets. Banks know that the days of debit and credit cards being the preferred method of payment are numbered. “We see a day when customers are leaving their home without their card,” Jonathan Velline, head of ATM and store strategy at Wells Fargo, told Bloomberg.

Some banks are taking steps to compete with their own digital wallets. Capital One has introduced a digital wallet, Bloomberg notes. JP Morgan Chase is preparing to launch one soon. While they may be late to the game, they may be able to reach a broader set of consumers. The digital wallets offered by Apple and Samsung work with Apple and Samsung technology respectively. Banks could offer the advantage of being able to work with any smart device, regardless of its maker. 

You don’t have to wait for U.S. banks to implement mobile wallets to see the technology in action. European banks are already early adopters of such technology. Denmark-based Danske Bank, for example, uses mobile payment hardware and software developed by Netclearance. The software, called mBeaconPay, works on all smartphones. The technology enables banks to offer consumers their own digital wallet solution without being tied to a specific mobile device maker. Danske Bank has deployed mBeaconPay-enabled mobile wallets to more than 30,000 merchants across Scandinavia, where it has quickly established itself as one of the top five mobile apps in the region. 

Banks, like any business, count on new customers to grow. The problem for banks is that millennials who could become their new customers are deciding against conventional banking and choosing instead to bank through the growing number of mobile payment services. If banks want a fighting chance to catch up with third-party mobile wallets, they’ll need a digital payment technology to do it. Contact us to learn more about how mBeaconPay is helping banks deploy their own mobile wallets.

The Future of Cryptocurrencies in Retail is here

In an increasingly digitized society, computers and the internet are changing every aspect of our daily lives, including the way we pay for products and services. Dollars, coins, and checks are slowly being replaced by debit cards and credit cards with magnetic bars and chips. As time goes on, a new competitor emerges, one that's even more sophisticated. Known as cryptocurrencies, digital currencies such as Bitcoin are beginning to replace standard versions of currency. However, many businesses still are not equipped to allow consumers to use cryptocurrencies in retail, meaning that there is a large volume of potential revenue retailers are not taking advantage of.

Why are Bitcoins excluded from retail?

Bitcoin is still a relatively new technology, with a lifespan of only a few short years. It goes without saying that it will take some time for this technology to mature and become more popular, both with consumers and with retailers. Traditional card reader terminals are unable to accept cloud-based bitcoin payments and interact with bitcoin wallets.

At the same time, there are steps we can take to get ahead of the game.

How can Netclearance help with cryptocurrencies in retail?

With the mBeaconPay platform offered here at Netclearance, we can help close the gap between consumer and retailer, allowing both parties to use Bitcoin effortlessly. Our platform integrates seamlessly with retail cash registers, allowing the acceptance of Bitcoin. As more and more companies get started on this new technology, more and more customers will want to use it.

It's never too late to get started with the currency of the future. Netclearance is here to help your business reach more consumers in the digital age.

Driving to incorporate IoT payments in wearables

Use cases for IoT payments abound. From keyfobs to wearables, they're beginning to show up everywhere. The biggest attribute it must have is that it is something precious to the user that they take with them everywhere, and that isn't lost or misplaced regularly. 

Many banks and card companies are looking towards wearables more than most other options, from rings to watches to fitness bands. American Express announced in April that it partnered with Jawbone for its UP4 band, using NFC technologies, a variation on RFID. Some estimates are that wearable proximity payments will be $501B by 2020.

Mastercard has also jumped on board. In October, they announced:

"The program will launch with the support of several marquee partners across multiple verticals to fit every lifestyle need. Designer to the stars Adam Selman, automaker General Motors, wearable technology innovator Nymi, smart jewelry company Ringly, and Bluetooth locator TrackR are among the prominent consumer brands enabling their products through the program."

The product makers plan to put IoT payment capability into clothing, keyfobs, wristbands and rings, among other items.

PayPal is working the process from the app direction, with apps for wearables containing most  of the functionality of the web-based program, and of course iPhones were at the forefront of IoT payments.

Many of these payment structures have been built like a house with many wings, adding on as they went. The state-of-the-art mBeaconPay platform has been built from the ground up to support all these use cases.

If you're in the market for your organization to develop proximity payment capability in wearables or other candidates from the IoT, we can help.

Nominated in the Best Cash Innovation category by PYMNTS.COM