Social Commerce: Triangulation of Social, Mobile & Payments! Transaction World Magazine, April 2012! This article precedes the upcoming Social Mobile Payments Conference & Exhibition at the World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center - April 11-12, 2012 for complete information and registration visit us online at http://www.socialmobilepayments.com

1. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF TRANSACTION WORLD MAGAZINE | APRIL 2012
SOCIAL COMMERCE
SOCIAL COMMERCE
THE TRIANGULATION OF SOCIAL, MOBILE AND PAYMENTS
by Bruce Burke
As mobile broadband begins to becoming cashless societies and new vir- begin to offer new context-aware,
become more prevalent, mobile phones tual currencies like Bitcoin and Facebook mobile-based application capabilities
are getting smarter, and payment tech- credits have the capabilities of becoming that can be accessed via a browser or
nology is becoming more streamlined a new international currency. installed as an application on a phone.”
and mainstream. These three factors The traditional financial service infra- As the number of mobile phones over-
intersecting simultaneously are leading structure is struggling. Regulators are takes PCs, customers will use mobile
to a new burgeoning segment that’s being striving to keep up, banks are trying to browsers and applications as the main
defined as Social Mobile Payments or figure out where their next buck is points of interaction. “E-commerce
more simply social commerce. coming from and card companies are organizations will need to scale up their
Over the last year while in the midst of scampering to remain relevant in this operations to handle the increased visita-
organizing the Social Mobile Payments new age of social, mobile payments. The tion loads resulting from customers not
event I’ve spoken with a plethora of indi- traditional idea of put your money in a having to wait until they are in front
viduals involved in many different bank because it’s a secure building and of a PC to obtain answers to questions or
aspects of this new burgeoning market- your money is safe inside their vault is place orders,” said Gene Alvarez, research
place. All seem to have the same consen- last decade thinking. vice president at Gartner. “In time,
sus concerning this new segment and Most transactions are digital nowadays e-commerce vendors will begin to
that is we’re all still trying to figure this and your money is an electronic notation offer context-aware mobile-shopping
thing out and piece it together. Every few in a secure data center somewhere. solutions as part of their overall Web
months someone pops their head up and We have direct deposit of our incomes, sales offerings.”
shouts “Eureka I’ve found it!” and tells and snap pictures with our smartphones “Customers are clamoring for new and
everyone about their fantastic new con- to deposit checks we receive. Then easy ways to interact with the organiza-
traption that pieces together the three we spend our incomes using online bill tions they deal with, and no company
segments. Then a short while later, pay, and a collection of debit and credit should think itself immune to this new
another innovator, adds a twist, or inter- cards. For many these cards are begin- business dynamic,” Mr. Alvarez said. “As
connects it into another network, render- ning to meld into their mobile phones. more people use smartphones, they will
ing the previous contraption passé. Programs like the popular Starbucks card expect an extension of their customer
This is all occurring at a dizzying pace; app, AMEX’s Serve and the Prepaid experience to be supported by this kind
so much so, that even the sharpest minds Card in the Google Wallet powered of device while demanding that social
in the business are having a hard keeping by MasterCard and Money Network. aspects of the Web be intertwined with
up with the innovation that’s taking place All these programs are transitioning this experience.
around the world. Some emerging mar- users to the mobile app by marrying the At the same time, organizations are
ket countries are border lining on virtual card in the smartphone applica- looking toward new countries and
tion to a physical card in your possession. regions for growth. As a result, it is time
These programs are all gaining new to take a fresh look at your organization’s
users on a daily basis. Web sales capabilities to ensure that
Then there are players like PayPal who social software, mobile technology and
recently announced integration of their globalization are part of your organiza-
services with Ingenico payment termi- tion’s online future.” n
nals, and acceptance capabilities in over
50 Home Depot Stores nationwide. Join us at the Social : Mobile : Payments
I’ll sum this all up by quoting Gartner’s Conference & Exhibition, April 11-12,
A pioneer in electronic point-of-sale systems,
Bruce Burke has extensive experience in Gene Alvarez “By 2015, companies will 2012 at the World Center Marriott Resort
electronic transactions, point-of-sale, generate 50 percent of Web sales via their & Convention Center. For more informa-
eCommerce and mCommerce. He can be
social presence and mobile applications. tion please visit: http://www.socialmobile-
contacted at abc@gulfbayconsulting.com payments.com
or by phone at 727-612-5775 Vendors in the e-commerce market will