Mastercard Worldwide has launched the "Mastercard Mobile Payments Readiness Index" which outlines the mobile payments landscape worldwide. Using data-driven techniques, Mastercard has ranked nations for mobile payments readiness.

Overall Readiness

1. Singapore
2. Canada
3. United States
4. Kenya
5. South Korea
6. Japan
7. United Arab Emirates
8. United Kingdom
9. Saudi Arabia
10. China
11. Taiwan
12. Philippines
13. Malaysia
14. Hong Kong
15. Brazil
16. New Zealand
17. Colombia
18. Germany
19. Thailand
20. India
21. Nigeria
22. France
23. Egypt
24. Vietnam
25. South Africa
26. Turkey
27. Russia
28. Poland
29. Mexico
30. Hungary
31. Italy
32. Indonesia
33. Argentina

Admeris Mobile is a leading mobile payment solutions provider supporting merchant needs with a global acquiring footprint to process in multiple currencies across several payment methods such VISA, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.  Admeris Mobile is also the leading provider for Interac Online payment processing in Canada. 

Admeris provides a secure, scalable "triple play" platform to support merchant transactions online, through smartphone mobile web browsers and in-app with native applications on Apple iOS, Google Android and Blackberry platforms.  Admeris' patent-pending secure OneTouch mobile web payment solution enables merchants to take advantage of a streamlined payment checkout process which allows consumers to shop more quickly with repeat transactions using only a CVV or pin code.  In short, repeat purchase instances auto-identify a consumer's smartphone device ID and credit card which was encrypted and stored securely off the device after the first transaction.No messy account setup or login requirements.

Merchants, powered by Admeris, are already using our mobile payment gateway solution today to take advantage of the mobile channel and to drive additional revenue into their business.

Admeris is a PCI-compliant payment platform solutions provider.  For more information, contact Admeris Sales at 1-866-854-9851 or email us at sales @ admeris.com.

To visit Mastercard's Mobile Payment Readiness Index portal, please click here.

How Does INTERAC Online Work?

INTERAC Online is a payment method, which allows Canadian consumers to make a purchase from their financial institution.

When a customer is ready to purchase a product/service on a merchant website, they are directed to the payment page to choose INTERAC Online as a payment option.  Once selected, the customer is re-directed to an INTERAC Online portal where they must select their financial institution to login to their online banking profile.  Once logged in, they will confirm the purchase and the funds are automatically withdrawn from their bank account instantly before being returned to the merchant website to see transaction details – receipt.

In the background, the bank decides to fund the transaction and a confirmation is sent to Admeris to finalize the transaction.   With Admeris’ hosted solution, the entire re-direct process is handled for the merchant if they choose this option.  For any other options, integration may require additional steps by the merchant.

Is the INTERAC Online Payment Method Available for Everyone?

This payment method is only available for Canadian merchants only.  Canadian consumers can use this payment method if they have an online banking profile with the Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and TD Canada Trust.

Can Customers Use INTERAC Online Without an Online Banking Profile?

No.  The customer is required to have an online banking profile with a Canadian financial institution to take advantage of the INTERAC Online payment method. 

Can You List the Key Benefits of INTERAC Online Processing?

• Competitive discount rate: INTERAC Online is a lower cost transaction method than credit card processing
•  Security:  No information is shared between the merchant and the consumer’s financial institution
• Easy to Use:  Consumers only need an online banking profile with the Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) or TD Canada Trust to pay for goods and services online
•  Chargeback Risk Eliminated: Merchants, professional in their business conduct, do not need to worry about fraud-related chargebacks, as the customer’s bank account must have the required functions to complete a purchase
•  Perfect for Young Consumers and Consumers without Credit:  Some consumers cannot obtain credit or are weary of sharing their credit card information online.  INTERAC Online provides an alternate method to make payments online

Can INTERAC Online be used for any Type of Merchant Business?

No.  Some businesses are restricted from using INTERAC Online payment method.  In some business models, a merchant may be considered higher risk and thus require a more rigorous review.  Please contact Admeris Sales at sales@admeris.com or by telephone to 1-866-854-9851 to find out if your business qualifies!

Is INTERAC Online Expensive?

Compared to credit card processing, INTERAC Online is a much more competitive payment method when it comes to costs.  There is a low setup fee, a very competitive monthly fee in addition to competitive INTERAC Online processing rates.

Please contact Admeris Sales at sales@admeris.com or by telephone to 1-866-854-9851 for details!

Can I Abandon an INTERAC Online Transaction Before Completion?

 Consumers will always be directed away from a merchant website to an INTERAC Online bank portal to select their Canadian financial institution. Once the financial institution is selected, the consumer is required to login to their Online Banking Profile at the Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) or TD Canada Trust to complete a transaction.    Consumers, however, are able to go back to the merchant website if they change their mind through a visible link.

Interac Online is a great payment option for a growing number of Canadian merchants and consumers.  Merchants are required to meet specific branding and design requirements on their website.  INTERAC Online does not support web or virtual terminal transactions, as the consumer must authorize each and every payment through a secure web connection with their online banking profile at a supported Canadian financial institution.

In business, many merchants live and die by their cash flow and in some cases, may not have ready access to other capital or loans.  In today's hyper-competitive landscape, access to working capital is paramount to keep business humming comfortably.

Admeris Payment Systems Inc. recognized this unique market need with smaller merchants from the start.  Money processed today becomes capital necessary to pay bills tomorrow or handle general operational needs on a day to day basis.

Next day funds can be a crucial requirement for merchants

If your business requires next day settlements, contact Admeris Payment Systems Inc. to get started today!  From secure PCI-compliant online transactions to secure "OneTouch" mobile web and in-app payments on Apple iOS, Google Android and Blackberry smartphones,  we deliver the ultimate "triple play" advantage to handle merchant needs that no other payment platform provider can offer.

We support:

    •    Visa
    •    Mastercard
    •    American Express
    •    Interac online (Canadian debit payment option)
    •    Discover
    •    Multi-currency, global acquiring
    •    Next settlement
    •    Online transactions
    •    Mobile web transactions
    •    In-app transactions

Contact Admeris Sales at 1-866-854-9851 or email us at sales (@) admeris.com today.

In the mobile universe of opportunities, one area is positioned extremely well to take businesses to loftier heights.  The world of online shopping is already a 'proven' channel with consumers opening their wallets en masse.  Canada's national daily, the Globe and Mail, interviewed us and discovered that Admeris' secure OneTouch mobile payments platform helps countless businesses transact online, through the mobile web, and via native applications with its powerful "triple play" marketplace offering.  At the end of our article, you can read the Globe and Mail article in full but let's focus on some recent data points.

IBM Coremetrics shared some striking CyberMonday 2011 U.S. data points:

1. Online spending went up 33% compared to 2010 sales data
2. Black Friday 2011 went up 29.3% compared to 2010 sale data
3. Average order value increased to $198.26 compared to $193.24
4. Conversion rates increased for online but more so for mobile from 2.24% to 2.99%
5. Mobile sales growth saw a threefold increase to 6.6% compared to 2.3% in 2010 with nearly 11% of American consumers using their mobile device compared to only 4% in 2010.

For businesses looking to expand their channels and customer interaction points, mobile is the next logical step to drive sales growth because mobile use-cases present opportunities for convenience and impulse decisions. The key decision point for merchant business is deciding whether one should develop a mobilized experience for their online digital property or develop a native application for specific platforms such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android or Blackberry, three platforms which Admeris supports with its in-app payment capability.

Logically, developing a mobilized web app experience (a mobile optimized site) is far easier, less costly, and faster to deploy when compared to native application development for multiple platforms. Intuitively, it makes sense.  Major brands hold greater stickiness in the minds of consumers thanks to milliion dollar marketing budgets spent in building awareness and retention for television, radio, billboard, online or mobile channels.  Thus, "anchor" brands can afford to deploy native applications with a richer set of features and experiences when compared to smaller businesses. As well, brand stickiness helps to drive greater app download conversions with less friction association to "discovery" thanks to the countless millions already spent on brand awareness.  So consumers instinctively search for brand names through app ecosystems.  But if you don't have that kind of brand retention, app discovery can be more difficult and costlier for smaller businesses.

The most obvious value proposition for the mobile web is that it achieves greater economies of scale since all smartphones and feature phones have a browser built on faster networks, thus making the addressable market larger, but more specifically, more compatible to a business' core set of customers, regardless of the platform. By leveraging Admeris' secure PCI-complaint OneTouch mobile payment solution, merchants benefit because repeat transactions from the same customer only require a CCV or pin code to complete the transaction instantly, thereby ensuring dramatically better sales conversions. For merchants, this translates into more sales and specifically, more impulse sales while consumers benefit from convenience and security.

Choosing Admeris, businesses can choose from several transaction approaches based on their most immediate needs.  As business needs change, the merchant can grow with Admeris to deploy capbility for mobile web app transactions, in-app transactions and online transactions as required.  Supporting major credit card types and Interac Online, Admeris also provides a globally diverse range of PCI-compliant processing solutions to help businesses with their unique needs in multiple markets.

To inquire further about Admeris' secure OneTouch mobile payment solution, please email us at sales@admeris.com or contact us at 1-866-864-9851 x. 705 and let us help your business process in more ways with the benefit of next day settlements and PCI-compliance.  You can also ask for a quote online here.

The Happy Admeris Team

Source: Globe and Mail article - Web apps ease mobile shopping online

The travel business has become extremely competitve and is largely driven by price.  As such, travel operators, on the whole are competing on several levels in tough economic times with extremely tight margins to win and keep customers.

Smart travel operators are winning in three key ways:

• Extending payment options for added customer convenience during the booking process
• Offering value added services such as knowledgeable advice with experienced staff
• Serving the needs of the market as a registered TICO member (Ontario)

TICO or the Travel Industry Council of Ontario is a non-profit, self-managed organization responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Ontario Travel Industry Act of 2002.  TICO's mission and mandate serves four key areas:

• Consumer protection
• Consumer education and awareness
• Registration, inspection, supervision and discipline of registrants
• Investigating and mediating disputes between consumers and registrants

If you are a travel operator registered with TICO, you fully understand the realities of today's marketplace.  The economic environment is tougher and your margins are far tighter due greater competition, higher operating expenses and a more demanding consumer which requires more time to consult or market to.

Admeris already processes for many travel operators that require expanded payment options.  Many have thanked us helping them offer Interac Online for their business because it can be far more competitive than credit card processing fees.  In fact, many travel agents have seen a dramatic rise in sales with less chargeback risk and faster administration of sales and deposits.  With Admeris, settlements occur the next day so that your business can continue to focus on sales and bookings, while our payment gateway solution takes care of the rest.

Interac Online virtually eliminates the inconveniences that still exist when booking for travel today.  Not surprisingly, some consumers still want to pay for their travel with something other than a credit card.   Until now, many have had to provide certified cheques or money orders, either mailing them or rushing to the travel operator's head office to make a payment and confirm their booking.  Obviously, this is extremely incovenient for consumers and for travel operators who then must handle administration of cheque and money order payments manually.

Call Admeris today and let's help your travel business get started with Interac Online, a unique payment method available to Canadian consumers whereby payments are made directly from their bank account.  Consumers pay with "cash" online without having to rush to your office or mail a cheque or money order payment to finalize their booking.  For your business, Interac Online also minimizes chargeback risks because money is in the bank with a next day settlement.

We're standing by. 

Call 1-866-854-9851 ext. 705 or email us at sales@admeris.com to get started today. Or ask for a quote online by clicking here.

Alex &

Your happy Admeris team.

The new year brings great opportunity for progressive organizations committed to developing new, exciting innovations for existing business processes and operations.  By far, mobile commerce is the most exciting and innovative advancement available to businesses in 2012 and which EVERY organization should add to their toolbox this year.

In fact, one industry sector that has always been on the leading edge of innovation, creativity and design is the advertising industry.  The agency world revolutionized and validated the online medium as a viable and revolutionary channel to drive awareness and lead generation with the capability of "measurement" to validate ROI and campaign effectiveness.

The same industry is now in a perfect position to push the envelope even further with mobile payments.  Admeris has been actively supporting many agencies interested in using our revolutionary secure OneTouch mobile payment platform because it finally moves beyond calls to action for awareness and lead generation to completion of a sale.  This represents a dramatic leap forward for full service agencies interested in expanding their service portfolio and value proposition in a competitve and difficult business environment.

Large brands and retailers are demanding innovative approaches to cultivating new customer relationships "on deck" (handsets) beyond typical branding initiatives.  Both large and small business want to capitalize through smartphones with more sales, better sales conversion, and re-captured revenue that would have been lost in the absence of a mobile payment solution.

Using Admeris' secure OneTouch mobile payment platform, agencies can incorporate QR codes and other marketing tactics to drive "on deck" consumers from initial call to action to a completed sale.  For initiatives that require scale and ease of execution, Admeris' development tooklit enables full-service agencies to implement client-branded Admeris-powered OneTouch payment landing pages to help consumers complete a sale quickly and easily without complex account setup, login, or payment page re-directs.   Mobile web payments are Admeris-rendered payment pages which properly support over 1300 smartphones and feature phones to make user experience fault-proof.  Even better, repeat transactions are simplified by only requiring consumers to enter a CVV or PIN code to make a purchase thereby guaranteeing a seamless mobile use-case which leads to higher sales conversions. For larger clients interested in unique and branded deployments, agencies can use Admeris' in-app payment capability within native applications they build for clients on Android, iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and Blackberry devices.

If you've been sitting on the fence on how best to proceed, contact Admeris and we can walk you through the best approach to serve your clients.  If you're a full-service shop and want to add mobile payments to your arsenal,  we recommend an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) agreement with Admeris which allows your agency to re-sell our solution to your client list while earning a referral commission on processing revenues over the life of the merchant agreement which your client executes with Admeris.

Now is the time to draw out the battle lines, to plan, to build, to test, and to execute unique conversion models for your clients and to help them capitalize with undiscovered opportunities before their competition does.

We look forward to your call. 

You can email us at sales@admeris.com or contact us at 1-866-854-9851 x. 705.

Your happy Admeris team.

As we kickstart the new year, we are confident in stating that mobile commerce is poised to become the breakout category in 2012.  Recent statistics from organizations such as IBM Coremetrics with its Benchmark Reports highlight astounding growth in mobile sales, mobile site traffic and smartphone and tablet penetration from Android and iOS variants, the iPhone and iPad.  Even though the percentages are still smaller for this nascent transaction channel when compared to online e-commerce, the numbers and consumer use-cases cannot be ignored.

Admeris' own data concludes that existing clients in enterprise and medium-to-small sized business are taking advantage of mobile-based transactions in their operations.  In fact, one particular client saw 30-40% of its customer base access incentive-based promotions through smartphones when compared to desktop or laptop personal computers.  Prior to Admeris, they faced great challenges in sales conversion to help them cross the chasm between promotion and transaction through mobile handsets.  Thanks to Admeris' OneTouch platform, the client's customer base was able to instantly respond to repeated offers through a secure and simple OneTouch payment experience that requires no account setup or login to complete and authenticate a transaction.

For merchants of any size, the Admeris OneTouch solution delivers mobile payment simplicity to consumer handsets today without any "heavy lift" requirements from technical/development resources to implement our platform.  If you are sitting on the fence "waiting" for the train to arrive on mobile commerce, we offer one pointed suggestion:  DON'T.  Today, you are in an advantageous position where the data has already proven that (1) consumers are migrating to powerful smartphone-based handsets (2) consumers are buying from their smartphones as evidenced by Cyber Monday and Black Friday 2011 consumer data (3) consumers are demanding convenience, security and ease of use.  Admeris' secure OneTouch mobile payment platform delivers ease of use, convenience and security to merchants and consumers.

Now is the time to deploy mobile payment options to help convert smartphone-driven consumers that are characteristically time-starved and continuously on the go.  Do not wait for your competition to deploy, experiment and migrate their business to support mobile payments  while you sit in a state of paralysis analysis.  You run the risk of leaving your business with nothing more than an urgent and scrambled opportunity to define a mobile strategy to retain existing customers versus growing your base in the wake of fervent competition.

Companies interested in becoming an "Independent Sales Organization" (ISO) for Admeris can contact the company to discuss their goals and objectives, size of their potential customer base, and enter into an arrangement to sell Admeris' Secure OneTouch mobile payment platform.  This is an excellent opportunity for ISO's to promote Admeris' complete end-to-end payment gateway solution for online and mobile commerce to merchant businesses interested in adding additional transaction channels to their business with the power of VISA, Mastercard, Amex and Interac Online capability.  Further, Admeris' PCI-compliant platform offers an integrated merchant reporting console for online and mobile transactions and offers aggressive next day settlements that surpass even the best offerings of "established" brands in the marketplace.

It's a proven fact. Consumers want access and convenience from their mobile handset. Powered by Admeris, merchants can take advantage of a quick-to-market strategy to sell goods or services easily through smartphone browsers with smart-rendering technology to display properly-formatted payment pages on 1300 feature and smartphone handsets.  Later, merchants can build a mobile strategy specific to native apps for iOS, Android and Blackberry using our mobile development kit and developer sandbox.  For more details, visit our Developer Center.

If you are interested in becoming an ISO, please email us at sales@admeris.com or contact us at 1-866-854-9851 ext. 705.

Regards,

The Happy Admeris Payments team

Contact Information

Admeris Sales and Media Contacts:

 Mcommerce & Ecommerce Sales

 +1 866 854 9851

 sales@admeris.com

Source Marketwire URL:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/speakerfile-inc-selects-admeris-to-help-power-its-corporate-expert-management-system-1592723.htm

The news has been a resounding YES to mobile commerce this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The numbers are not fully in but we scoured the Internet for some cool statistics on mcommerce and consumer trends.

Enjoy!  And we hope our American readers had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!

Mobile Commerce Trends and Statistics

• US -62% of smartphone owners are willing to make a purchase this holiday season if prompted by coupons, discount offers, text alerts, gift cards, or loyalty points. 
• UK - Q2 2011 mobile visits to merchant websites accounted for 7% of overall traffic - up from 1.4% in Q1, 2010.
• US - 52% of smartphone users will research products, redeem coupons and use apps for holiday gift purchases
• US - Mobile sales surge 254% on Black Friday (2011)
• US - An unprecedented 15% of consumers will access retailers' websites on web-connected mobile devices this Christmas.
• US - 24% of iPhone users and 21% of Android users have used a shopping application in the past three months
• US - 56% of people believe mobile can make the shopping experience more enjoyable
• US - 62% of smartphone users have purchased PHYSICAL goods from their mobile device in the last 6 months
• US - Sears, Amazon Best Buy score high in mobile performance for Black Friday weekend 2011
• US - 100 million consumers will be on the mobile web in 2011

Sources:  Internet Retailer, Econsultancy, Acquity Group, GSI Commerce, IBM, Forrester, Lightspeed Research, Adobe Survey, McommerceDaily.com, eMarketer

For mobile commerce and ecommerce solutions from Admeris Payments, please sign-up online here: https://signup.admeris.com/quoteGet.jsp.  Or email us at sales@admeris.com or call us at 1.866.854.9851 ext. 705.

A new report from InMobi has concluded that 60 million subscribers will shop via mobile over Thanksgiving 2011.  In Google's latest book, Winning The Zero Moment of Truth, trends clearly indicate that consumers are using their smartphone devices more often to research products, seek retailer information and shop. 

For retailers, this is a clear signal that mobile has become the new imperative to conduct business today.  As more consumers reach for their handsets to research and make purchasing decisions, retailers face a market urgency to deploy a mobile strategy as soon as possible. Whether retailers pursue a mobile website or native app strategy, access to retailer products and services must move beyond information and pricing to include transaction capability.

What has been a far too recurring theme in business is one where some businesses adopt a "wait and see" attitude towards emerging trends which then snowball into an avalanche of competition. By then, the same businesses are scrambling to deploy an "ad hoc" strategy under adverse market conditions where main competitors have already deployed their mobile strategy and are capturing revenue as a result.  That is a position few laggard businesses want to be in.

The perfect storm has already arrived.  Consumers, en masse, are using smartphone handsets for everything from reading to gaming to research and price and product comparison shopping.  In a world of physical and digital products or services, the missing link for many merchants has been the ability to capture revenues from smartphone handsets.

The InMobi study provides additional findings:

• 45% of users plan to compare prices from their handset on Thanksgiving weekend
• 36% plan to purchase directly from their handsets
• 42% plan to shop and research sales on their handset on CyberMonday (primarily an online PC shopping day)

The shift away from desktop PC-based shopping on CyberMonday 2011 is the tipping point that retailers have been looking for in the mobile channel.

Other study findings include:

• 29% of users will look to their smartphones to learn about new products and services
• 27% will use their handset when making a purchasing decision
• 15% will use their mobile handset make a purchase while in store

Clearly, consumers are performing research and transactions in the moment and on the go and retailers need to be in a position to support this behavior.

On the information search side, the types of searches consumers are expected to perform from their smartphone include the following:

• 31% plan to monitor sales and promotions
• 27% plan to look up retain locations and hours
• 26% plan to research product information and availability
• 26% plan to review product photos
• 18% plan to search for retailer-brand native applications
• 17% plan to use their smartphone for customer support

Based on the study's own findings, any retailer that has not incorporated a mobile strategy which may include a  fast mobile website for on-the-go information searching is at risk of losing revenue opportunities to the competition.

In the end, retailers must become increasingly focused and committed to delivering compelling customer experiences through smartphones that not only deliver necessary information to consumers but allows them to make a purchase without resorting to desktop/laptop connections. 

To find out more about Admeris' secure OneTouch mobile payment platform, designed to deliver a compelling, easy-to-use, PCI-compliant mobile commerce experience for retailers and consumers, please email sales@admeris.com or call us at 1-866-854-9851 ext. 705 and ask for Alex.  Or sign-up for mobile commerce today online at https://signup.admeris.com/quoteGet.jsp

Your friendly Admeris team