Why Use Office Space Analytics Software?

The modern, twenty-first century office space is a rapidly shifting landscape. In the 70s and 80s, tight rows of desks or office cubicles dominated the professional office. This is, however, changing. A recent article in Seattle Business Magazine focused on just how some work spaces are changing with the times, claiming that some 21-century office users are "not invested in the traditional office space concepts of individual offices or cubes. They want to make sure the space is laid out for efficiency and is conducive to creating relationships." This sort of mindset has brought with it the idea of open office spaces and break rooms that have more than just a coffee maker and a few folding chairs next to the office refrigerator. Office spaces are changing more rapidly than they have in a generation.

This isn't, of course, the case everywhere. There are many work spaces around the world that still adhere to a standard cubicle and corner office arrangement. But even in these places, small changes happen on a nearly daily basis. Workers are hired, promoted, or leave, and thus someone new is always being shuffled in or out of one space and into another. 

For both offices, each is in need of some serious organizational skills just to create these spaces and keep them functional. What both schools of office aesthetics require is an Office Space Analytics toolthat assists with designing the scope and flow of any office.

There are many benefits to using office space analytics software over the old-fashioned pen and paper:

Ability to track employees

Maybe you have a traditional office space, and need to move several dozen employees from one floor to another floor on a temporary or permanent basis. Maybe you have a more modern, open-office floor plan, but need to schedule limited office resources based off of employee work schedules. Office space analytics software will help you to prevent mix ups on both fronts.

Office space and furniture use optimization

There may be places that are rarely used in your office. Knowing who uses your office space and for how long can help you to determine its most efficient use. With less physical paperwork and more documents being stored electronically, even traditional office setups are seeing less and less need for massive arrays of filing cabinets. With office space analytics software, far more easily than with pen and paper, you can track the efficiency of these elements, and determine, for example, the impact of downsizing the filing cabinets or relocating them. 

Office asset tracking

Office asset tracking software takes the guesswork out of questions like "is anyone actually using..." or "who was the last person who used the..." and replaces uncertainty with verifiable knowledge. Knowing who uses what and how often will help you to make smarter decisions about everything from software purchases to copy machines. 

The answer seems clear. Modern, sophisticated Office Space Analytics software is crucial tool for nearly any modern business. Partner with Netclearance to see how your office can be at its most productive.

Blockchain and Mobile Payments - The technology that guarantees safe mobile transactions

Blockchain and Mobile Payments

When Blockchain technology rolled around (2009) it was viewed with skepticism. It was created by the same people who created Bitcoin, they needed a method to transmit interactions electronically through the web with no chance of hacking or corruption. Fast-forward to 2016 and Blockchain technology is sweeping the globe as the safest and most effective way to conduct any type of transaction online. Everyone from banks to retail stores to Mom and Pop grocery stores are getting on-board with Blockchain. They want to offer savvy consumers the safest way to buy, sell, store, transmit or broadcast information and financial data safely and without fear of being hacked or compromised.

How does that work?

Here is the simple answer: Blockchain technology takes all the data it is given, then disseminates  that information along a line of nodes (computers or servers). There are millions of nodes within the Blockchain platform that diffuse the data. No single node has the information needed to give a hacker or cyber-thief enough information to act on. Add to that endless line of storage devices the encryption of each one seperately and safety is guaranteed. Just cracking one node is useless, cracking all of them is impossible.

How does that affect my mobile phone?

Mobile phones have become the device of choice when shopping online, or in person. Blockchain technology has enabled mobile phones to become electronic wallets and storage devices, keeping all the data safe from unwanted attention. Your mobile phone is a flexible point of sale device and online shopping utensil, not to mention your primary communications tool. Whether you are storing a lot of personal financial data, hundreds of documents related to your work or some pictures of your kids, it is all protected by Blockchain technology and cannot be hacked.

Gone are the days of easily hacked mobile phones.

Every company around the globe is building proprietary Blockchain structures to guarantee data safety . One of these companies is Netclearance, they have rolled out their own Blockchain technology for cell phones. Through the use of mBeaconPay, cell phone users can shop online or at a brick and mortar store without ever having to open their wallet or use a credit card, ensuring a safe and cash-free transaction. Best of all? All financial data is safe whether you are a buyer or a seller.

Flexibility is key

MBeaconPay also tracks all of your sales and purchase data and stores that information for you in your place of choice. If you are a store owner, there are no more clunky transaction terminals and card readers, just a few taps on a keypad and the transaction is complete. Payments are made online, over the phone, at the register with a few clicks or waving the mobile phone in front of a small reader.

 

The future is here.

Blockchain technology and mobile phones are the future of all financial transactions. With over 52 billion dollars in transactions for the first half of 2016, it is a fact.  Whether you are selling goods or buying them, you need to look into Blockchain technology and mobile phone P.O.S. transactions. 

Benefits of Wearable Technology in the Healthcare Industry

Enterprises in the healthcare industry can greatly benefit from incorporating wearable technology in their business processes. It can be used to quickly locate employees as a smart identification badge. Wearable technology can also monitor vital signs of patients. This type of technology is the future of healthcare. Here are three examples of how wearable technology is beneficial in the healthcare industry:

It Makes Patient History More Portable

There is a wearable technology patch that healthcare professionals can wear to easily access a patient's medical history. By making patient history more portable, it can help doctors determine the right treatment method faster.

Keep Track of Patients with Greater Ease

Another benefit of wearable technology in the healthcare industry is the ability to keep track of patients with greater ease. Wireless sensors can monitor a patient's position and alert nurses when a patient needs to be repositioned to prevent pressure ulcers.

Simplifies the Process of Gathering Data

Wearable technology can be used to monitor a wide variety of health signals, such as blood glucose levels, heart rate, and activity levels. This makes gathering important patient data easier for health care providers. Data will be more accurate as well, allowing doctors to provide better care for patients.

Many business processes in the healthcare industry can be improved with wearable technology, especially as this relatively new field continues to grow. At Netclearance, we offer a type of wearable technology that allows you to keep track of your employees to improve workplace management. It's a smart badge that can function as an ID card and room-level tracker.

Wearable Technologies in the Enterprise

Wearable technologies in the enterprise has been a long time coming, now it's here. Actually, it's been here a while. Before you grab the arms of your chair and get ready to flee, read on. The level and intrusiveness of the technology is entirely up to the employee or end-user. It is also a technology specific to the workplace, and nowhere else.

Basic work tools only.

The primary reason behind these devices is to track assets and employees through their work cycle, then analyze all data collected to make improvements in efficiency. These are not “wear home” devices, they are a work tool. A tool designed to help all businesses function more efficiently and productively. 

Big Sister is watching you....sort of.

Wearable tech has been around for a while, particularly in big corporations like Amazon and Tesco. Employees are given armbands or lanyards with tracking devices (usually site-specific GPS trackers) embedded to track their movements and activity levels in gigantic warehouses and distribution centers. These are devices worn at work and nowhere else. The main reason behind them is to track work-flow and assets as they move throughout their work-cycle.

Other applications focus on safety and security.

Several large mining concerns issue wearable devices (ball caps) for their employees operating heavy machinery. Rio Tinto of Australia issues all drivers these caps for the duration of their shift, daily. The caps monitor alertness levels in the driver through the use of built-in sensors in the cap. If a driver approaches the fatigue level deemed dangerous, the cap sends signals to the driver and to headquarters that the operator needs to get off the road. This has reduced fatigue-induced accidents significantly in the last 6 years.

Possible risks? Not if protected correctly.

All these information collecting devices require an enormous back-end to log, analyze and store that data. Large caches of data are always a super-attractant for hackers and data theft. With a blockchain type of encryption protocol, data breaches become a thing of the past.

Multiple companies are getting in on the wearables market.

Netclearance has rolled out the mBeacon card, a badge designed for a wide range of businesses uses. No bigger than a credit card, the mBeacon incorporates an NFC module (near field communications), and a bluetooth radio. Employees can be tracked on-site through the bluetooth, work-flow and streamlining is monitored by the NFC module. Employees can make purchases through the NFC component of the card.

Safeguards all assets.

The card can also be mounted to physical assets (computers, machinery etc) in order to track their locations throughout the day.

Netclearance is a leader in blockchain technology.

Netclearance has created multiple proprietary blockchain platforms for banking and credit card industries, they applied that knowledge to their wearables data storage. The end result is that they have created a wearables badge and the platform to protect the data therein.

 

This isn't a futuristic horror story.

It's just good business. Streamlining your business processes (production, sales, inventory etc..) involves collecting data and statistics and then addressing problems when they arise. Wearable technologies are a simple and cost-effective solution for the ongoing work of data collection. 

Office space analytics, one more tool in the arsenal of maintaining a competitive and successful business.

Office space analytics help the business owner stay competitive.

Anyone who owns a business knows that running a tight ship is essential to success. Rapidly changing technology necessitates a change in how offices are managed and streamlined. Office-space analytics are programs designed to cover a range of office dynamics, from productivity to asset management to actual space utilization, and more.

Use space effectively and save money.

The traditional office space model is disappearing, due in part to the technology used by office workers. From desk-tops to laptops, cellphones, pda's and notebooks, the concept of space utilization is changing. One conservative estimate indicates that due to mobile technology, fully one-quarter of office work-space goes unused.

How to manage changing work-space needs?

An office space software that measures and assesses physical area and then allots surface space (desks, tables, cubicles) according to use. It also factors the use of chairs, open spaces and traffic flow in order to optimize all essential needs of the workers within the space. This furniture utilization is part and parcel of the software package, what furniture works best in what area of the office. Docking stations, charging areas and break areas are figured-in for a composite whole. No more wasting space, every square inch is used to create a seamless working office environment.

Office analytics go deeper than just space.

With analytic software you can know what every employee is doing at any time of the day while they are in the office. The software tracks every program or application used on a wide variety of end-user terminals, monitoring usage throughout the day. It will also run tests to determine the efficacy of the applications being used; which one is creating the most productivity and which application is generating the most help-desk issues.

Manage your workplace assets, all of them.

Complete asset tracking software manages your assets from the minute they are procured to the time they are retired. Your work machine inventory is constantly managed and tracked. You will always know who has which pda or laptop, and when they are due to return it.

Managing inventory assets.

The same goes for sales inventory. An exhaustive inventory list is compiled and logged on an hourly basis, lessening chances of theft or loss. With inventory asset tracking software you will always know who sold what, when and exactly how much should be left.

Bring your office space analytics on-board for a streamlined business

Modern businesses have a great deal to cope with in order to stay productive and competitive. Office space analytics software is one more means toward a well-functioning whole. When you know what all of your assets (human and otherwise) are doing at all times, it's easier to focus on making money.

Mobile Wallets Reduce Processing Fees and Improve Customer Relationships

Introduction

According to the smallbiztrends website, Urban Airship conducted a survey that indicates that consumers in increasing numbers are using mobile wallets for their transactions.   The report asked more than 1,000 United States consumers, as well as the same number of Great Britain adults to analyze their abilities, expectations, and give reasons for adopting mobile wallets, as opposed to continuing their usage of their brown leather counterparts. Although customers are showing considerable interest, that does not translate into numbers that indicate that this trend is progressing as rapidly as market experts had earlier expected. In fact, according to Mobile Payments Today,

  • Many merchants do not accept mobile pay because they do not see the benefits of mobile wallets.
  • Customers are not as willing to warm up to the idea because of security concerns. Identity theft is real, and they do not want their personal information compromised.
  • Consumers also believe that it's easier paying with bills or a card.

Main Barrier

Everyone does not yet have a smart phone, even though the numbers of those that do are fairly high. For the first time user of a smart phone, this means of communication is sometimes quite daunting to the beginner. Chances are, for instance, a first time user is not likely to know how to use apps right away--which is essential for the use of one's cell phone as a wallet. 

Nevertheless, more and more people are becoming educated about their use, and increased information is available to debunk certain myths about mobile wallets.  Thus the Mobile Payments Today website has predicted that by 2020, increasing numbers of people will be leaving their traditional leather wallets at home.

Advantages

  • One of the main benefits of mobile wallets is that they help improve relations between customers and retailers by helping those retailers see customer feedback about promotional campaigns in real-time. 
  • They cut transaction time significantly, allowing customers to tap and leave the line, instead of having to search for cash using their wallets, or look for their cards. They attract more customers as word gets around that this company has their customers out more rapidly than those still only accepting paper and plastic.
  • Also, it will be more difficult for a criminal to steal your information, unlike using plastic. 
  • In addition, market experts expect card processing fees to plummet over time for mobile wallet transactions. Thus gone will be the days when a retailer has to charge extra for credit or debit card transactions below a certain amount to cover the charges the credit and debit card companies are leveling against them.

Conclusion

Given time, most consumers will reach the conclusion that it is better to switch to mobile wallets. For more and more, people will be buying smart phones, and becoming better at using them. Thus "tapping and going" will become more appealing. Therefore, it behooves small businesses, as well as their larger counterparts, to start using this technology. This is an investment that could pay dividends to these entities in the long run.

Blockchain and Mobile Payments, the latest revolution in safe financial transactions.

What is Blockchain, and what does it have to do with my mobile phone?

The answers are complex, let's simplify things for clarity. Blockchain is an internet technology that offers the user a massive global database upon which to store their information; be it financial, intellectual property, art, music, copyrights, patents, anything of value to the possessor. Where blockchain changes the security game is in how the information is protected. Millions of users across the globe with nodes in the blockchain, all equally protected with state of the art encryption and firewalls, all are virtually impossible to hack. Imagine how that translates to a secure financial structure to be used on your smartphone. 

Blockchain is changing financial sectors worldwide

Much like Bitcoin (which uses blockchain technology exclusively), the “big finance” thinkers originally scoffed at blockchain. No longer do they have that luxury. Blockchain has become a resource for millions of people who could not “qualify” to get bank accounts. Or just didn't want one. With the explosion of crypto-currencies use world-wide, blockchain adapted its protocols to allow simple and straightforward financial transactions for anyone who needs it. It's as simple as getting a virtual “wallet”, then buying whatever goods or services you need. Who needs a bank account, anyway? All you need is a smart phone, an online wallet and you are ready to go.

 

How does that pertain to my mobile phone service?

In the simplest way imaginable. You can set up and pay your mobile phone fees through the most secure and reliable financial network on the planet, and avoid intermediaries. Avoiding the intermediaries also lowers the cost of products and services. On another level, the use of mobile phones as purchasing devices; mobile shopping and purchasing is exploding exponentially. From the United States to China, to India and beyond, major retailers are scrambling to incorporate mobile shopping services to all of their online stores. Once again, they are relying on blockchain technology to guarantee safety to their customers. Netclearance, a mobile phone services provider has created a proprietary blockchain algorithm:mBeacon that heightens the solid security offered by blockchain technology.

 

How is all of this possible? The mobile P2P payment.

Mobile P2P payments allow the user to access either a bank account, an online wallet or a debit/credit card and pay another person (or entity). Blockchain technology guarantees that this financial transaction is safe. P2P means “person to person, or entity to entity.” Prior to the use of blockchain technology, P2P payments relied on clunky and moderately effective protocols offered by banks and companies like PayPal. With blockchain technology, these transactions are guaranteed to be safe and free of corruption. Many mobile service providers are now starting their own blockchain-based protocols to increase safety and eliminate hacking and identity theft.

 

Mobile phones are fueling the revolution.

Mobile phones are one of the largest markets in the world. There are over 3.5 billion mobile phones in the world today and those numbers are increasing daily. The mobile smart phone has become a one stop communication device, from socializing to shopping to banking, you can even make films with your mobile phone! Mobile phones and blockchain technology are paving the way toward more secure online financial transactions. You owe it to yourself to check out what blockchain and mobile phones have to offer.  

Proximity Payments Technology, the future of transactions worldwide

Proximity Payments Technology is the wave of the spending future

What are proximity payments?

Proximity payments or proximity mobile payments are point of sale financial transactions that are handled with a mobile phone or device. The purchaser can either tap the required keys, wave the phone in front of a reading device, or have a sales clerk scan a code shown in the mobile display. They are one of the simplest and most hassle- free payment options available and proximity usage is exploding.

 

The proximity payment revolution.

Ease of use and guaranteed security are driving the proximity payment boom into overdrive, financial institutions world-wide are sitting up and taking notice. Africa, Northern Europe, China and America are all getting onto the proximity payment bandwagon with a vengeance. Banks are scrambling to create their own proximity payment architecture, along with major retailers.

Big and getting bigger

In the early stages proximity payments were novel and fraught with problems. Those days are over. In the UK, over the course of 2016, proximity payments are set to account for 78 million Euros. The year 2017 is predicted to triple those numbers. Proximity payments were slow to get going in the UK, but they are here, and catching on rapidly.

Is it Safe?

Yes. The huge increase in proximity payments has been fueled (in part) by the success of blockchain technologies. Blockchain technology guarantees the user safety in numbers. Every single transaction is broken into a million parts and stored in “blockchain nodes” all around the country and the world. No hacker or virus can capture all of the information they need at any time.

The smart companies leading this technological revolution.

Multiple companies offer proprietary proximity payment structures. These are companies creating their own “blockchain style” networks and architecture. Smartbeacon is one of these payment options. Netclearance and mBeaconpay offer incredible value to the consumer and the banks, while protecting everyone involved with the highest security available.

What are the benefits of Netclearance and mBeaconPay?

The list is long, but we'll condense it for you:

  • Use any smart phone, any time. No more being forced into a certain model or brand to use smartpay technology

  • Can function in credit card networks

  • No transactions fees, ever.

  • No processing fees or processing terminal

  • banks and retailers can own the transaction data

  • Payment solutions can be customized. One can use their bank account, debit card or paypal/bitcoin account, even their credit card.

Want an example?

A form of mBeaconpay technology has revolutionized the MobilePay application from Danske Bank. Retailers can process all transactions safely and effectively through MobilePay's new retail application, and never have to swipe or process a credit card. It makes using MobilePay as an online wallet effortless.

Ready to get on board?

No matter what your business is, or how many units you sell per day, you will benefit from proximity payments. Making a purchase easy for a customer is important to sales. When you are ready to join the big leagues please

Blockchain and Mobile Payments: How New Technologies Are Making Cash Obsolete

Imagine you're on a road trip across the country. You're at a dinky gas station, some place you've never heard of before. You could swipe your credit card at the pump, but you're nervous. Maybe your card has been stolen before. So you go in and pay with cash. Inconvenient, but it's worth it when you're worried about your info being stolen. More inconvenient to have to visit an ATM later to get more cash, but not nearly as bad as having your card stolen.

This kind of aggravation and worry could soon be a thing of the past. Mobile payments offer the same immediate access to your money as credit cards. Though mobile payments aren't as pervasive as credit cards yet, with emerging technologies offering improved security, they soon will be. And whenblockchain and mobile payments are combined, your cell phone offers far safer payments than a credit card ever could.

But first things first.

What is Blockchain?

According to the Wall Street Journal "A blockchain is a data structure that makes it possible to create a digital ledger of transactions and share it among a distributed network of computers." So what does that mean?

Well, for starters, blockchain is the technology that makes bitcoin possible. The basic idea is that it makes transactions incredibly secure by keeping a record of all transactions on a tamper-proof ledger distributed across the world. So secure it can be used to back a currency that has no physical basis.

What happens when you mix blockchain and mobile payments?

You get hyper-secure, hyper-convenient payment available at all times just by keeping your phone with you. Your info can't be stolen. Your money is safe, theft-proof, and fully available at all times.

mBeaconPay, a service created by Netclearance, incorporates Blockchain capabilities to secure transactions, offering safe and easy mobile payments with zero transaction fees. It even offers P2P (person to person) payments, a capability credit cards have never offered.

With revolutionary technologies such as mBeaconPay offering payment freedom and security like never before, soon the only use for your wallet will be to hold your library card.

The Advantages of Proximity Payments Technology

This blog post is about proximity payments technology. It hopes to answer questions about why these technologies are superior to money and plastic and why stores and places of commerce should switch to honoring them.  To be sure, it can save an institution time and money if it switches to these kinds of transactions.  For the more people who are learning about smart phones begins to trust these types of technologies, the more the demand will increase for these kinds of transactions. 

What is Proximity Payments Technology?

According to Mobile Payments Today, proximity payments technology refers to a method of payment that entails the use of a smart phone and an internal chip.  The smart phone application allows the phone to secure a customer's amountinformation, which enables it to transfer to the merchant as money.  Itreplaces cash, debit or credit cards.

Why the Need for These?

For a long period of time, consumers have worried about identity theft. In more cases, banks and credit card companies are incorporating the use of microchips, which protect against those who wish to steal identities, information, and money from the unsuspecting merchant. Thus to keep up with your customers' concerns, switching to this technology is a perfect idea.  It is not cheap, but it will pay dividends in the long run as your customer base increases.

Prediction

The Beaconstac website cites a study that suggests that transaction value of proximity payments technology should triple by the end of 2016 due to an increased amount of acceptance by merchants, and the increasing number of consumers buying smartphones and learning their capabilities.  Thus more people will be more likely to make medium-sized and large purchases on their smart phones.

NFC and BLE: Two of the Most Popular Technologies

Of all of the proximity payment technologies, two stand out--the Near Field Communications (NFC) and the BLE.  While both platforms allow peer-to-peer transactions to take place, there are key differences in how they work.  The BLE, for example, is capable of communicating with devices within 70 meters, while the NFC works best when the devices are four centimeters apart or less.  The BLE is more popular for some people because it allows the consumer to pay for his or her products without the use of a store associate, whereas the NFC does require the use of an employee to take the data.  For the customer who is in a hurry, the NFC will not do him much good, for he has to wait in long lines for a cashier who is free.

If you are thinking of switching to proximity payments and technology, a good suggestion would be to buy dual-mode terminals types from us, and train your employees how to use the equipment.  For more information on our payment terminals, contact us.

How Digital Receipts Benefit Mobile Wallet Adoption

For as long as people have commenced and completed financial transactions, buyers and sellers have documented these purchases in written records. Paper receipts are a relic of generations of mercantile custom. While these receipts are useful for personal record keeping or keeping the documentation required for tax purposes, hanging on to a piece of paper is an outdated way of maintaining records. A growing number of companies are offering digital alternatives for financial record keeping. But look a little deeper and you’ll see that the ability to store receipts electronically just scratches the surface of the benefits they bring to mobile wallet technology adoption.

It’s easy to take for granted now, but the smartphone is a relatively young technology. When these devices started to find their way into the pockets of consumers, it was only a matter of time before new mobile financial software would ease wallets out of consumer pockets altogether. One of the hurdles that’s keeping mobile wallets from taking off is the failure to take into account the desire, and to some, the need, to keep a receipt to document a transaction.

Receipts are useful for consumers, helping them track their purchases. But they’re also valuable to retailers. Receipts give merchants another way to communicate promotional information to consumers, David Salisbury explains in MobilePaymentsToday. Conveying that information in a digital receipt just makes it easier for the consumer to absorb.

Providing consumers with a way to keep digital records of their purchases should help speed up their adoption of mobile wallet technology, Salisbury says. The challenge for this technology is partly compatibility. There’s a lot of financial software out there and a growing number of merchant payment hardware that this software must work with. That’s where Netclearance can help. We’ve developed software called mBeaconPay that overcomes compatibility issues by working on all smartphones. The technology also easily integrates with the financial networks of all major payment processors. And for those consumers and retailers who value a way of keeping track of transactions, mBeaconPay also supports digital receipts. Don’t let receipts be a barrier to the adoption of new mobile financial technology. Contact us to learn more about what mBeaconPay can offer you. 

Witness the Oncoming Banking Revolution via Blockchain and Mobile Payments

 Over the past two years, both established companies and new startups have been investing heavily in improving their blockchain and mobile payment infrastructure. A blockchain is defined as a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of data records secured from tampering and revision. The benefits of increased security and near-instantaneous availability of funds will radically change how we currently view online mobile payments.

    There are four major reasons why blockchain will revolutionize mobile payments:

  1.  Increased mobile payment security
  2.  Instant access to funds
  3.  Expansion of digital wallets
  4.  Reduction in the cost of remittance fees

    Mobile payments have often been considered vulnerable given the exponential growth of mobile payment fraud especially fraud and duplicate charging. The blockchain has the ability to reduce, if not eliminate, this vulnerability since transactions are logged into a permanent ledger that is impervious to tampering. In addition, the distributed record of financial transfers and extremely secure user accounts will provide a significant barrier to any cybercriminal activity.

    The second benefit of blockchain technology is the near-instantaneous availability of funds following a financial transfer. Currently, Bitcoin transfers often take several minutes to go through while other mobile payments transfers take several hours to finalize. The blockchain will revolutionize this payment transfer through use of significantly faster networks. By the time you finish reading this sentence, the funds transferred from one account to another will be fully available.

    Another benefit of the blockchain is the near-elimination of almost all other methods of payments. Check payments were all-but-eliminated with the invention of the ATM. In the same way, the blockchain will complete the transformation to a nearly cashless society relegating cash and credit cards as obsolete relics. With the ability to use multiple signature methods for verifying purchases and the promise of a reduction of fees on online purchases through enhanced security, the digital wallet will rapidly become the payment method of choice in today's economy.

    The last significant benefit of blockchain is significantly reduced remittance fees. As reported by theWorld Bank, the cost of sending remittances was 7.37% as of December 2015. Blockchain promises to greatly reduce if not eliminated transfer and processing fees providing a significant economic benefit to its users.

    Blockchain and mobile payments promises to change the way we currently think about online payments through enhanced security, instant fund availability and reduced fees. In the years to come, blockchain stands to become the payment method of choice across the globe.

Offline Analytics Play an Important Role in Business

Offline analytics sounds like a phrase straight out of the twentieth century. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a creature of the 21st century and is a key component of analytics, deriving information from an accurate offline source. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other analytical tools, it aids in capturing information about the customer in the brick-and-mortar setting . By identifying, measuring, and quantifying critical consumer events, offline analytics enable companies to reach viable analytical results and is the focus of Netclearance's foot traffic-counting packages.

Getting straight to the crux, offline analytics, "can actually help you increase engagement and sales, letting you analyze how people are behaving inside your store, thus giving you tremendous insights on how to improve layout, marketing, and customer experience," as reported by Venn. The important next step is to employ the technology that best obtains the information desired for the specific business. Capturing information about  dwellers versus passers-by in front of a store call for different approaches.  It is as simple as using the right tool for the right job.

Netclearance employs a system to capture the required information that leads to the most informative results, giving business owners insight into how they can increase sales and profits. After losing to web tracking ads for years now, store owners have regained the advantage. The reason given by ShopperTrak's chief executive Kevin Kearns is, "When you look at something on the web, you get ads that pop up and follow you around – companies like that have much better advantage over bricks-and-mortar retailers and so they're under more pressure to equalise the playing field," according to The Guardian. This is how foot traffic-counting equals the score.

The offline analytical package that Netclearance provides begins with its mBeacon3 Sniffer. It collects Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and BLE traffic from enabled smartphones and sends it to the cloud or store locally on device's memory. From there, the information makes it to Netclearance's analytics engine.

The amount of on-site information provided by Netclearance's analytical package is quite rich. It correlates sales data with foot-traffic, provides queuing times, helps provide insight to promotions and marketing, gives client counts, reveals where customers stay and how long (dwell) they remain in locations throughout the store. Plus, it offers this powerful marketing tool for multiple sites or locations. 

For further information and the impact of measuring foot-traffic on your sales, visit us athttp://www.netclearance.com

Wearable Technologies in the Health Enterprise

Wearable technology has been on the horizon in the tech world for the past several years, but has often been viewed as a gimmick or expensive novelty item. Yet this futuristic trend has seen recent break outs in the areas of health and fitness, namely with wrist type wearables such as Fitbit and the Apple Watch.

Many of these devices are packed with everything you might find in a larger tablet, but miniaturized. Touchscreen technology combined with large amounts of memory are now being offered in a lightweight, wrist held package. These devices often offer WiFi, GPS, camera, microphone, and the GBs of storage we have grown accustomed to in our modern lives.

Yet the wearable market is poised to open into newer and broader fronts with the advent of "smart" clothing. Most smart clothing looks and feels similar to normal clothing but with sensors embedded into the fabric in such a minute fashion that the wearer is often unable to tell they are there.

Behind this smart clothing idea is the premise that they can be embedded with sensors that are then connected wirelessly to smartphones. They will then relay a variety of information to the user about their fitness and health regimens.

Recently, running socks have been launched that can track your runs better than a fitness tracker on your wrist. These socks have three pressure sensors embedded into them that track your pace, distance and time during a workout. This data can then be analyzed to give you tips on how to improve your exercise, improve exercise efficiency and help you to avoid injury. 

Whole body clothing is being developed that goes even further. These full body outfits track what muscles are being worked the hardest during your workouts. This technology is useful for people who want to efficiently work on a certain part or muscle area in their body and don't have the time to spend on traditional full body workouts.

This is a growing area that has not yet been exploited by marketing, and offers a unique position for a new businesses trying to break into the technological market. As the world becomes more connected, the devices we use daily have become so as well. This has wearable technology is traveling into new and unknown territory for marketers to adventure. 

How Banks Can Catch Up With Third-Party Mobile Wallets: It's A Priority

If how banks can catch up with third-party mobile wallets isn't a priority for your institution now, it soon will be.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, banks have been losing ground to mobile wallets for years. Customers have to deal with their banks less and less, and this puts financial institutions at risk of losing customer loyalty. 

Instead of conceding to the competition, financial institutions can now jump into the game with their own, branded mobile wallet. Netclearance has a turnkey solution called mBeaconPay that will help bring your customers loyalty back. Netclearance's smart payment terminals come various form factors that are tailored to fit your needs exactly. 

Our solution is already surging in popularity. Danske Bank's mobile wallet is one of the top 5 across mobile wallets in Scandinavia and is used on nine out of ten smartphones in Denmark. Our unparalleled mobile customer engagement continues to keep us on top. Banks need to stay relevant in the age of mobile payments, and Netclearance mBeacons are your key to the future. 

The most important feature of mBeaconPay is its ubiquitous platform. This smart payment terminal is compatible with all major mobile operating systems and cash registers. It can work with cash or credit card based transactions. This means that no matter what device they are carrying or payment method, your customers transactions will go through seamlessly. It offers unparalleled mobile customer engagement that is unique in the industry.

Your bank can take the lead in your customers mobile payment experiences. Since the day people leave their houses without their cards is closer than we think, it's time to take action. Contact Netclearance for your turnkey mobile wallet solution, mBeaconPay. 

Wearable Technologies in the Enterprise - Why Would Your Organization Not Use Them?

Wearable technologies in the enterprise are technological solutions that make good sense, period.  For instance, why not have a smart badge that could let your team leads know exactly where your employees are?  Suppose there is an emergency?  Suppose you need help within minutes or even seconds in some type of crisis situation?  Would you not want to know exactly who might be nearby to help?

There are any number of given scenarios where a smart badge would be a great help.  It would also be great to have a smart badge simply to park with a piece of expensive equipment, letting you know at all times where in the plant that equipment is.  

Of course, there's a great deal to be noted about the efficiency improvements that can come about by the use of wearable technologies in the enterprise, like smart badges.  "Frederick Taylor would have loved to have been able to monitor the efficiency of workers with wearable sensors. Tesco uses armbands to track how workers are transporting goods in their warehouse. Employees like it because it saves them from having to carry and fill out clipboards of paperwork," according to an article by Jonathan Duffy titled Wearable tech gives businesses a competitive edge.  

Of course your work crew are trustworthy folk, but visitors and vendors maybe not so much.  A smart badge would be a good thing if there are very sensitive corporate assets or systems that could be breached by unauthorized persons who try make their way into areas they clearly don't belong.  Better to keep a closer watch using the additional safety of a smart badge that can track them within meters anywhere indoors.

The benefits of mobile wallets and knowing the most appropriate one for you

We all have several cards that we carry on a daily basis. These cards range from several credit and debit cards, loyalty or gift cards, a driver’s license to membership cards for such places as the library or the sports club. If we are to store all these cards in our wallets, they would be too bulky, even though we were to put them in our backpacks, they would still be a load for us.

With all these cards to carry, we all long for that day when we will be able to hold our phone and be able to access all the cards you need for that specific day. Through a mobile app, mobile wallets are taking us a step closer to the realization of that aspiration. The mobile app can consolidate the credit, debit, loyalty and gift cards onto the phone.

However, these mobile wallets have become so many such that choosing the one that fits you well is now becoming a hurdle. One of the ways of determining the mobile wallet that suits your needs is by considering its functionality for different card types as discussed below.

Credit & Debit Cards

Primarily, your mobile wallet should store your debit and credit cards securely. Storing is not enough, but the wallet should allow you to pay with these cards using your cell phone. A good mobile wallet should enable you to store a variety of cards, such as branded cards, national and local bank cards as well as major brands cards.

Loyalty Cards

Almost every store, restaurant, boutique or supermarket you frequently visit will offer you a loyalty card. You obviously want to earn discounts and freebies from these places, but if they all give you a physical loyalty card, you will end up having a hefty stack of these cards. For this reason, you should choose a mobile wallet that allows you to store all your loyalty cards and enable you to track the points in every card.

Gift Cards

According to an article by Robert Teitelman and Lawrence C. Strauss, close to $1 billion in gift card went unredeemed in 2015. Gift cards go unredeemed because some are lost, others are forgotten while in others, unused balances left on the cards after a purchase goes to waste. You want a digital wallet that will help you spend every coin on the cards.

At Netclearance we offer the mBeaconPay, a turn-key mobile payment smart terminal and software solution which is a perfect match for all your mobile wallet need.

Smart Badge Technologies in the Enterprise Work to Improve Businesses

Wearable technologies in the enterprise serve to improve business processes in many effective and creative ways. A simple badge the size of a credit card recently released by Netclearance serves as an excellent paradigm. Though the initial reaction to the term ' wearable technology' may lead some to imaginative conclusions, the technology is real and ground-breaking. With ever evolving advantages to enterprise, from their bottom-lines to the efficiency of their operations, wearable technology is proving its value everyday in the business world.

What may appear as a simple badge that identifies the wearer, upon further examination reveals a highly complex communication device. Embedded in the badge's, or mBeaconCard, manufacture is a Near Field Communication module and a Bluetooth Low Energy radio. Though an observer may see just a picture and wording, the badge is actually a transmission tool sending data packets to Netclearance's mBeaconGW, or IoT gateway. 

More than just being able to track an employee's movement and location within several feet, the badge finds use in tracking goods as they travel through a facility. Security and timing underscore this function. Knowing where goods and individuals are in the enterprise's facility is always an important concern.

As a convenience, an individual can use the badge to buy goods. 

The BLE also interfaces with, as reported by IOT Journal, "Netclearance's mCloud Content Management System software [and] is used to collect and manage the data transmitted by the badge, and from there it can be sent to Netclearance's business application or analytics software." This clearly indicates that the badge belongs to an integrated system with the potential to update and analyze facts as they change real-time. This also includes third-party applications and analytical platforms.

With an eye on the need to adjust in the facility's environment, smartphone communication is possible with the proper software.  With the NFC reader capabilities, the technology finds utility at the room-level for tracking in large facilities. 

The capabilities continue to expand. Already Netclearance offers a vibration sensor and magnetic sensor using an embedded accelerometer. This technology employs trigger tracking. As the name suggest, a motion or contact event must occur before the badge triggers the software or application systems by transmitting the required data.

Benefits Reported for Wearable Technologies in the Enterprise

Wearable technologies in the enterprise are providing advances in productivity like never before. For now, assisted reality is the here and now in the enterprise. Augmented reality gets everyone's heart pumping but the enterprise is not quite ready for it yet. Instead, focusing on wearables that free up the hands of employees and move those operations that required recording information on a tablet or other device to a wearable technology should be today's focus.

Wearable technologies are demonstrating new, increasing benefits all the time. From being able to offer real-time reporting to significantly reducing time that used to be spent in audits, they are beneficial to employer and employee alike. Employers now have access to productivity at any given moment throughout the day and are even able to detect if an employee is overtired. Employees appreciate having one less thing to track daily. Processes that previously were tedious in reporting and tracking are now captured immediately and with more precision. This increases the effectiveness of reporting that in the past would sometimes be postponed until time became available to stop and record either in a computer, tablet or written form. 

The industry of wearable technology now hosts an event whose sole purpose is to educate enterprises on the use of wearable technology in the workplace. In regards to efficiency, a study released by Rackspace, The Human Cloud at Work, concluded that employees that utilized wearables at work became 8.5% more productive and 3.5% more satisfied with their jobs. Wearable technologies are not a thing of the future. They are here now and although it is just the beginning of things to come, initial indicators show increased satisfaction and performance on both the employer and employee's part.

The Netclearance Smart Badge (mBeacon Card) is a wearable identity badge. Its primary purpose is to support indoor tracking and access control and payments among other workplace applications. This technology will allow for fewer identification sources that are currently being utilized.