Is the mobile payments scene getting a bit too competitive to the point where fragmentation could be an issue? As it stands there is PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay, and if the rumors are to be believed, LG could be getting into the scene as well with the rumored LG G Pay service.
Based on this, it does seem like things are crowded at the moment, but things could be getting even more crowded soon. According to a report from Reuters, JPMorgan Chase & Co has announced that they will be launching a mobile payments service of their own that will rival existing services such as Apple Pay.
The concept and execution behind their service is expected to be similar to current offerings, which is that consumers will be able to make payments using their smartphone. Dubbed Chase Pay, the company believes that they will have the advantage due to the caliber of retailers that they have managed to convince to come on board their new service.
The company will also be teaming up with Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) to help power its mobile payments. Based on this, there is a good chance we could be looking at a QR code-like system for payments, as opposed to relying on NFC which is what some of the other payment services are using at the moment. Will Chase Pay be good enough to rival existing players?
That would be an interesting question, especially when you consider that Chase has about 94 million cards in the US at the moment, all of which will be compatible with Chase Pay. This means that getting customers to install the app and use their service should prove to be easier than trying to convince brand new customers.
Filed in . Read more about Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.