Written by Andre Stoorvogel, Director, Product Marketing at Rambus
Rambus is @ booth 833
Billed as one of the world’s largest payment and financial services event, Money20/20 kicks off in Las Vegas on October 22, with 11,000+ attendees from 4,500 companies. We will be at booth 833, showcasing a range of mobile payments products, including our Unified Payment Platform, as well as our Token Service Provider and Host Card Emulation (HCE) solutions.
By attending Money20/20, you will have the opportunity to participate in important industry conversations about product specifications, consumer preferences and vendor announcements that are shaping the future of mobile payments. In fact, we expect a number of trending topics related to mobile payments to take center stage at the event, including tokenization, blockchain and mobile wallets.
Tokenization 2.0
In September, EMVCo launched version two of its EMV Payment Tokenization Specification. The market has rapidly evolved since v1.0 was launched in 2014, with tokenization adapting accordingly by addressing the changing requirements of digital payments and minimizing fraud risk associated with the inadvertent exposure of primary account numbers (PANs). More specifically, the updated framework addresses new use cases for eCommerce, including:
- Consumers can perform a tokenized transaction on an eCommerce site or in-app using their mobile/digital wallet.
- Shared payment token – a token requestor can share the same payment token between multiple token users (e.g. merchants).
With the recent specification update, tokenization is well on its way to strengthening its position as the de-facto method for securing mobile payments.
However, the complexity of integrating tokenization into secure mobile products has grown as the number of payment schemes, OEM Pay solutions and mobile wallets within the ecosystem increases. As such, a key discussion in Las Vegas will be how to most effectively connect with the various players quickly and easily.
Blockchain
Blockchain technology is currently in the process of evolving from a digital currency infrastructure into a platform for digital transformation. According to Gartner, blockchain offers many potential applications, including government, healthcare, manufacturing, media distribution, identity verification, title registry and supply chain.
However, despite long-terms potential for positive disruption, blockchain promise currently outstrips current blockchain reality, with many of the associated technologies expected to remain “immature” for the next two to three years. At Money20/20, major industry players will likely discuss governance, regulation and strategic partnerships – all of which are crucial to ensuring the technology is translated into practical, deployable solutions.
The future of mobile wallets
Emerging technologies and trends are altering consumer expectations of the in-store experience. This has prompted brick-and-mortar retailers to re-evaluate the way they do business and adopt a more personalized and interactive approach to customer engagement. Within this context, payments are increasingly being identified not just as a necessary process to be managed, but also as a distinct opportunity to increase upsell opportunities and reduce overhead.
Indeed, 80% of merchants now see payments as a fundamental part of their business strategy, with 92% expecting to maintain or increase investment over the next 12-18 months. As retailers and merchants expand their payments activity and investment, deploying a branded digital wallet will be a key consideration for many.
From our perspective, well-executed digital retail wallet deployment can deliver improved payment security, while reducing operational costs and increasing revenues. The industry is recognizing these benefits and reacting accordingly. For example, 451 Research reports that 28% of US merchants are looking to launch a branded digital wallet within six to twelve months, with a further 18% considering an implementation without a firm timeframe.
At Money20/20, conference participants will discuss some of the challenges retailers face in implementing a branded mobile wallet; such as accelerating time to market and providing a seamless and enhanced experience from the outset. We believe that as market demands and consumer expectations evolve, functionality can be upgraded to meet emerging requirements for in-store mobile wallets, such as pushing real-time, in-aisle targeted offers to shoppers based on their previous purchases.
Interested in learning more? You can arrange a meeting with a member of the Rambus team @ +31 10 885 10 10 or contact us via email. You can also check out our mobile payments resource center here.
