Banking's 'Uber Moment': Keeping Up in the Era of Fintech

Financial technology is proving to be a significant disrupter in the financial sector. Similar to how Uber completely transformed the taxi industry, financial startups will have a real impact on the banking industry in the next few years.

In fact, such effects have already begun to take place. The Financial Times estimates that around 100,000 banking jobs were cut in 2015, including those from HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse.

Banks must now compete on technology in order to stay relevant. According to a 2015 survey by software firm Temenos, 27% of senior bankers reported tech companies as the greatest threat to their business.

As mobile phone Internet use is becoming increasingly popular, mobile wallets are quickly becoming more utilized by consumers. Banks looking for new revenue streams should strongly consider building their own mobile wallets in order to compete with technology like Apple Pay and Google Wallets.

Companies looking to build their own mobile wallets can do so using mBeaconPay, a new mobile payment device that enables banks to both acquire new merchants and offer payment-processing services without going through credit card networks or the walled  gardens of Apple or Google.

Using proprietary Smart Beacon Technology, mBeaconPay conveniently supports all wireless proximity technologies like BLE, NFC, QR, and Wi-Fi in a single unit and seamlessly integrates with all point of sale systems.

The mBeaconPay was recently nominated for Best Cash Innovation Award by PYMNTS.com.

Financial startups are quickly changing the banking landscape, and the industry must adapt in order to keep up with these new technological advances. For more information on how companies can build their own mobile wallets using mBeaconPay, contact us.

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)

Making the Shift to a Cashless Society

According to an article from PYMNTS.com, Denmark is the next country making the transition toward a cashless society. During the transition, retail locations such as restaurants and clothing stores will have the option to refuse any sort of cash payment, while supermarkets and post offices will still continue to accept cash. 

Denmark is only a recent example of a global trend toward abolishing physical currency. Other countries that already have begun shifting toward cashless alternatives include Sweden and Canada.

What are the benefits of a cashless society?

Cashless alternatives to payment make transactions more quick and efficient. Through the use of participating devices, such as smartphones, funds can be transferred instantaneously, streamlining the payment process. Any individual's payment information is linked directly to their device, eliminating the need for pocketfuls of cash, credit cards, and debit cards. A cashless society also means that money no longer has to be printed, saving valuable resources, such as the paper, chemicals, and metals that go into the production of physical currency.

Businesses can also benefit from cashless societies. Cash places a heavy administrative burden on retail locations, which can save time and money through the switch to cashless alternatives.

How can Netclearance help your business go cashless?

At Netclearance, we are proud to provide our clients with mobile payments technology solutions. Danske Bank MobilePay POS, which is spearheading Denmark's transition to a cashless society, is powered by our very own mBeaconPay technology, which works with and operates on a wide variety of POS and smartphones, allowing customers and retailers to exchange payment information in a quick and efficient manner.

It's never too late to take advantage of the worldwide trend toward cashless societies. Contact us today to help your business transition to cashless mobile payments.

Reduce Fraud and Card Skimming with Headless ATMs

As the worldwide economy makes the gradual shift toward cashless alternatives of payment, the payment technologies we use change, as well. One of the newest innovations in payment technology is called the headless ATM and is a tool designed to prevent fraud and crime while providing for the effective transfer of payment information.

What is a headless ATM, and how does it work?

Headless ATMs are the newest innovation in payment technology, tailored to work with the proximity payment software solutions that are beginning to dominate the world economy. While most modern ATMs rely on payments in the form of cash and credit cards and debit cards, headless ATMs accept payment from alternative devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches. Using Bluetooth technology, headless ATMs are capable of establishing connections with participating devices, which transfer payment information through specialized apps.

According to a recent article from News Hour, smartphones are fast replacing credit and debit cards, as banks around the world are continually opting in favor of the new technology. The article cites benefits such as reduced security risk and ease of use as reasons that banks are making the shift toward headless ATM technology.

Netclearance's mBeaconPay

At Netclearance, we specialize in technology solutions that are specially crafted to work with headless ATMs. Our mBeaconPay hardware and software works with ATMs, smartphones, and smartwatches in a seamless manner that cooperates with existing software, making it easy to use and implement. We partner with banks around the world to help them make the shift toward alternative payment and cash withdrawal methods that are revolutionizing monetary transactions. Contact us today to learn how we can help make the shift toward headless ATMs.