News Feature | August 7, 2014

RetailNOW Panel: Channel Vital To Mobile Payment Adoption

jim roddy

By Jim Roddy, VP of Marketing, RSPA

RetailNOW Panel

You know a topic is popular at a trade show when the hotel staff needs to bring in extra seats to accommodate the previously standing-room-only crowd. That was the case Aug. 5 at RetailNOW 2014 in Orlando for a panel discussion titled “Driving Commerce With Mobile Payment.”

Panel participants included Brandon Piper of PayPal, John Badovinic of Discover, Josh Bennett of Lavu, and Nick Nayfack of Mercury. The panel was moderated by Jovino Velazquez of Vantiv.

The 45-minute panel offered several insightful quotes regarding mobile payments in the retail IT channel:

  • Nayfack (Mercury): “A lot of these technologies are amazing, but the people in this room are responsible for the implementation and experience of the merchants.”
     
  • Bennett (Lavu): “Our hunch is the consumer base is ready for a change — a smoother, frictionless experience with the merchant.”
     
  • Piper (PayPal): “People want to be able to pull their phone out of their pocket and get whatever they want. That’s pretty unrealistic, but it’s what we’re working toward.”
     
  • Badovinic (Discover): “If we’re going to do this right, the merchant needs to know this works. They need to know that an 18-year-old cashier can use the app and make it work. We need to train the channel to make this work and make the experience better for the merchant.”
     
  • Nayfack (Mercury), discussing the mobile payment joint project by Mercury, Discover, PayPal, and Lavu: “This does not require new hardware. That’s why this will work where others have failed. We also need an easier developer experience — a one-day implementation.”
     
  • Nayfack (Mercury): “The crux of getting consumers and merchants together is in this room. We need to make sure the system doesn’t require a lot of updates to the POS system.”
     
  • Badovinic (Discover): “You can be proving that pipe works right now. It’s a great way to get engaged. A big fear is resellers being circumvented. A great way to ensure you’re part of the future is to embrace this future now.”

RetailNOW 2014, hosted by the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA), was conducted Aug. 3-6 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, FL. For more information on the event, go to www.BSMinfo.com/solution/InsideRSPA.