How to pay with a smartphone in an urban environment and why the development of a startup can create serious competition for NFC - read on.
Finance is migrating to smartphones - almost every technology conference is held under this slogan. Nevertheless, in Ukraine there are still very few global services that would allow completely abandoning cash and replacing bank cards with smartphones. The reason is that it is quite difficult to design a solution for cashless payments that is universal for the urban environment. At the same time, the need for such a solution is growing. Companies that were among the first to implement and implement this in the business processes of the main market players will gather a loyal customer base, laying the foundation for the successful operation of the country's business in a digital format.
The requirements for such a solution are obvious. First, it must be a mobile wallet that includes all kinds of payment instruments. Secondly, using this payment method should be as fast as possible. Third, the cost of integrating such a solution for a merchant should be quite low. While most fintech companies in Ukraine cope with the first point in one way or another, the second and third are the stumbling blocks that, in different combinations, prevent existing solutions from becoming universal. At iForum 2021 we met the guys from the tachcard team- a young provider of mobile payments. The Ukrainian startup has developed an ambitious solution to help merchants accept payments in a new way. It is very easy for the smartphone shopper and practically costs nothing to the merchant. At the forum, the company demonstrated a pilot solution - payment in parcel terminals, terminals and vending machines via Bluetooth using a smartphone. Read on for more details.
What does tachcard offer?
The company has developed a solution that simplifies settlements and accepts payments as much as possible. It is enough for the buyer to bring his smartphone very close to the receiver and select a card for debiting funds. In this case, the receiver can be another smartphone or a special sticker at the cash register, postal machine, terminal, coffee machine, and other automated systems.
Thus, instead of the usual banknotes and bank cards, it will be possible to contactlessly pay someone, pay for a parcel, coffee, or, for example, replenish a mobile in the terminal using any smartphone. This means that bill acceptors and additional payment terminals (in the case of a parcel machine) will no longer be needed. All payments will be made "over the air" using bank cards linked to the application. The merchant only needs to connect to the system a Tachpay device from tachcard, which works on the basis of iBeacon technology. The price of such a device does not exceed 30 ye, and the connection takes a few minutes.
Tachcard notes that such functionality, unlike NFC, can be easily and inexpensively implemented into any automated system. In this case, the smartphone must have Bluetooth (available in all) and the tachcard application. And that's all. The solution does not require any connection to a bank and can be implemented in any existing merchant application. To do this, tachcard has an Open API SDK, which the company gives to developers for free. If a logistics company, an online store, or any other supplier of goods and / or services does not have its own application, tachcard offers a White label - a tachcard application branded for a merchant. But even that is not necessary. Customers of such a merchant can always pay using the tachcard app.
What machines is the system compatible with?
You can integrate the tachcard contactless payment into any system - regardless of whether it is connected to the Internet or not.
How it works?
The client brings the smartphone with the attachment to a special sticker on the front panel of the machine. Then he selects the card from which the money will be debited in the application and confirms the payment. Having received a payment signal, the machine makes a sale. If the machine is connected to the Internet, the signal comes from the merchant's server. If not connected, the signal comes from the buyer's smartphone. This is the main difference in the integration of technology for different types of machines.
In both cases, the data is transmitted to the machine via Bluetooth via an integrated Tachpay device. It can interact with the machine using the popular protocols MDB, CCNET, ID003, etc.
In the case of interaction between two smartphones, nothing extra is needed, because they both have Bluetooth on board. The guys from tachcard said that they are already testing the transfer of money between smartphones via Bluetooth and very soon the tachcard application will be able to do this.
How does it work in practice?
The work of the parcel machine
The interaction with the vending machine takes place in the same way. The only difference is that such a machine is not connected to the Internet and receives a payment signal from a smartphone.
Terminal operation
Well, as you can see, tachcard solutions are quite user-friendly. The calculation takes place quickly, there are no special requirements, because all the necessary technologies are in all smartphones. At the same time, the integration of solutions does not require special costs from the merchant; the desire to make the world a better place is enough. The guys are sure that, unlike other contactless solutions, for example, NFC, tachcard solutions are capable of becoming widespread today.
Finance is migrating to smartphones - almost every technology conference is held under this slogan. Nevertheless, in Ukraine there are still very few global services that would allow completely abandoning cash and replacing bank cards with smartphones. The reason is that it is quite difficult to design a solution for cashless payments that is universal for the urban environment. At the same time, the need for such a solution is growing. Companies that were among the first to implement and implement this in the business processes of the main market players will gather a loyal customer base, laying the foundation for the successful operation of the country's business in a digital format.
The requirements for such a solution are obvious. First, it must be a mobile wallet that includes all kinds of payment instruments. Secondly, using this payment method should be as fast as possible. Third, the cost of integrating such a solution for a merchant should be quite low. While most fintech companies in Ukraine cope with the first point in one way or another, the second and third are the stumbling blocks that, in different combinations, prevent existing solutions from becoming universal. At iForum 2021 we met the guys from the tachcard team- a young provider of mobile payments. The Ukrainian startup has developed an ambitious solution to help merchants accept payments in a new way. It is very easy for the smartphone shopper and practically costs nothing to the merchant. At the forum, the company demonstrated a pilot solution - payment in parcel terminals, terminals and vending machines via Bluetooth using a smartphone. Read on for more details.
What does tachcard offer?
The company has developed a solution that simplifies settlements and accepts payments as much as possible. It is enough for the buyer to bring his smartphone very close to the receiver and select a card for debiting funds. In this case, the receiver can be another smartphone or a special sticker at the cash register, postal machine, terminal, coffee machine, and other automated systems.
Thus, instead of the usual banknotes and bank cards, it will be possible to contactlessly pay someone, pay for a parcel, coffee, or, for example, replenish a mobile in the terminal using any smartphone. This means that bill acceptors and additional payment terminals (in the case of a parcel machine) will no longer be needed. All payments will be made "over the air" using bank cards linked to the application. The merchant only needs to connect to the system a Tachpay device from tachcard, which works on the basis of iBeacon technology. The price of such a device does not exceed 30 ye, and the connection takes a few minutes.
Tachcard notes that such functionality, unlike NFC, can be easily and inexpensively implemented into any automated system. In this case, the smartphone must have Bluetooth (available in all) and the tachcard application. And that's all. The solution does not require any connection to a bank and can be implemented in any existing merchant application. To do this, tachcard has an Open API SDK, which the company gives to developers for free. If a logistics company, an online store, or any other supplier of goods and / or services does not have its own application, tachcard offers a White label - a tachcard application branded for a merchant. But even that is not necessary. Customers of such a merchant can always pay using the tachcard app.
What machines is the system compatible with?
You can integrate the tachcard contactless payment into any system - regardless of whether it is connected to the Internet or not.
How it works?
The client brings the smartphone with the attachment to a special sticker on the front panel of the machine. Then he selects the card from which the money will be debited in the application and confirms the payment. Having received a payment signal, the machine makes a sale. If the machine is connected to the Internet, the signal comes from the merchant's server. If not connected, the signal comes from the buyer's smartphone. This is the main difference in the integration of technology for different types of machines.
In both cases, the data is transmitted to the machine via Bluetooth via an integrated Tachpay device. It can interact with the machine using the popular protocols MDB, CCNET, ID003, etc.
In the case of interaction between two smartphones, nothing extra is needed, because they both have Bluetooth on board. The guys from tachcard said that they are already testing the transfer of money between smartphones via Bluetooth and very soon the tachcard application will be able to do this.
How does it work in practice?
The work of the parcel machine
The interaction with the vending machine takes place in the same way. The only difference is that such a machine is not connected to the Internet and receives a payment signal from a smartphone.
Terminal operation
Well, as you can see, tachcard solutions are quite user-friendly. The calculation takes place quickly, there are no special requirements, because all the necessary technologies are in all smartphones. At the same time, the integration of solutions does not require special costs from the merchant; the desire to make the world a better place is enough. The guys are sure that, unlike other contactless solutions, for example, NFC, tachcard solutions are capable of becoming widespread today.