News from the Wire

Powa Technologies CEO says Apple Pay will face tough competition

Friday, September 19, 2014 — 14:38:45 (EDT)

London, Sept. 19, 2014 -- The frenzy for the new iPhone 6 shows no sign of abating in the US, as the smart phone went on sale in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Europe. Queues for the new smart continue as people try to lay their hands on the new phone in order to resell it at hyper- inflated prices in markets like China and Russia, where the phone will not be available for a few weeks.

Despite the iPhones popularity amongst loyal Apple followers, the device still faces stiff competition from the likes of Android and Samsung. The company has decided to enter the final frontier of eCommerce, which is mCommerce, with Apple Pay. This bold move to enter an already crowded mobile payments market, has met with scepticism from some industry observers.

The eCommerce landscape in mobile payments is expected to be worth more than £721 billion by 2017. The sector is already saturated by a variety of different players including banks, retailers, and technology companies all offering their own solutions, leaving companies and merchants with a bewildering array of options.

Dan Wagner, eCommerce veteran, CEO and founder of Powa Technologies, comments: “Consumers are finding themselves increasingly swamped by mobile payment apps. They don’t want thousands of different apps that can each be used in a couple of different places - they want one universal app they know they can use anywhere. Just as wallets are stuffed with store cards, users are being asked to fill their smartphones with individual payment apps they will rarely use.”

“Retailers are likewise faced with the difficult decision of which mobile payment service to choose, with no assurance that the system will go the distance and be worth the investment. Without a clear and universal choice, how can they be sure they have picked a VHS and not a Betamax?”

Dan concludes, “Consumers will be seduced by the ease and convenience of using one app across all platforms and the winner will be the app that secures universal adoption right across the retail landscape.”

Powa Technologies’ PowaTag app offers a union of different technologies fused into one application - consumers need to only download one app and the service requires no infrastructure costs on the part of retailers, and allows for seamless adoption into current retailer infrastructure.

PowaTag gives shoppers the power to complete purchases anytime, anywhere using a variety of triggers, with sales finalised in just three seconds using pre-entered payment and address information. By using a variety of technology, including QR codes, java script, iBeacons, near field communication (NFC) and embedded audio tags to enable instant purchasing both in-store and on the move, PowaTag has the potential to be a ubiquitous app serving as a common standard for both retailers and consumers.

Such mass market potential has already resulted in the PowaTag working with over 800 international retailers and brands who are laying the foundations for the next wave of the retail revolution.

About Powa Technologies

The Powa platform was built to provide a true omni-channel commerce environment for retailers and brands. The platform consists of three products – PowaWeb (eCommerce platform on the web), PowaPOS (innovative hardware and software for physical retail environments) and PowaTag (a ‘commerce anywhere’ transaction enabler). All Powa sites are PCI Level 1 compliant and fully secure. About PowaTag

The retail landscape has been transformed forever with the world launch of PowaTag, the revolutionary new retail enablement service from Powa Technologies. Over 800 worldwide brands including Universal Music and Carrefour have also signed up for PowaTag in recent months. Here are some main benefits of the solution.

PowaTag turns impulse into purchase, finally eliminating the wait that leads to incomplete transactions Offline environments and printed materials become online shopping environments – even if the shop is closed Print, poster and broadcast advertising become accountable sales vehicles, enabling advertisers to measure ROI in real terms Infomercials and other broadcast media are transformed with AudioTag, including events such as football games and concerts No add-ons required – it uses the eyes, ears and other sensors now shipped as standard on smartphones Enables existing payment solutions rather than replacing them Eliminates the need for the consumer to key in sensitive data every time they buy No credit card data stored on the device – all held in the cloud with PCI Level 1 Certification Transforms the in-store experiences through close proximity beacon intelligence, which can customise down to inches and by customer.

PowaTag In Action - www.youtube.com/watch?v=or0L7UnaP6g

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Source: Company press release.