Is payment transformation on the way?

[Sherman A1]

Apple has recently unveiled Apple Pay to great fanfare, which allows customers to pay using their iPhone. A rival payment system is under development called CurrentC, which is being created by a consortium of large retailers. Without placing any bets, it’s clear that there will be significant activity around the “digital wallet,” allowing customers to speed up their payment options. Self-checkouts have been around for years and Kroger is working on some cool technology that could rapidly speed the scanning process.

But, what about avoiding the checkout altogether? With nearly two-thirds of customers now using some sort of smartphone, we are not far away from what might be both a customer and retailer dream — the ability to check out in aisle without ever waiting in a checkout line. Customers get to bypass the wait and retailers can save on their largest single labor expense —the front end.


Read More: http://supermarketnews.com/technology/payment-transformation-way#ixzz3IeePDfUW

[sendero]

1. Not to mention...

... that they are really tired of paying Visa MC and Amex 1.8-3.5% or so of every transaction.

All of these services are overpriced and they are going to be the biggest losers as these new payment schemes are rolled out and adopted.