Removing the friction between retailers and consumers

Aiming to change the way merchants engage with consumers, iMobile3 has partnered with payment services speclialist Ingenico, to deliver a comprehensive platform for frictionless mobile payments at the point of sale using Bluetooth LE (BLE) devices, sometimes known as `beacons’.

The development makes its first appearance this week at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show in New York City. It comes in the “The pilot companies are enthusiastic about the results”

second-generation of iMobile3’s PassMarket solution, a  cloud-based, multi-wallet platform that supports both Apple Passbook and Google Wallet.

The company has now introduced 100 percent frictionless mobile payments by integrating its US Patent Pending PassMarket Beacon technology into Ingenico’s Telium-based family of payment devices.

Ingenico has long-standing relationships with retailers around the world providing electronic transaction solutions as part of its omni-platform payment services offerings, which today includes mobile payments, online payments, and loyalty/couponing. The company helps retailers of all sizes bridge the gap between their current technology infrastructure and their need to service mobile and online customers.

“iMobile3’s PassMarket Beacon solution tightly integrates into our omni-channel retail strategy by further enhancing the consumer experience across a variety of touch points,” said Thierry Denis, President of Ingenico North America. “Collectively with iMobile3 and their PassMarket solution, we are offering novel ways for retailers to engage with customers and improve their shopping experience before they even walk in the store.”

According to Bob Leonard, CEO of iMobile3, PassMarket makes it simple for merchants to take on new consumers and update existing ones with virtually no changes to their POS environment. By combining Bluetooth low energy beacons with PassMarket, merchants can gather micro-location data about consumers while they are located inside a merchant’s store. This can provide merchants new ways to deliver special offers, increment loyalty programs, and accept frictionless mobile payments.

iMobile3 has been collaborating closely with Ingenico for the past year to pilot innovative mobile solutions at several major retailers across the U.S. “The pilot companies are enthusiastic about the results,” said Leonard. “They believe this is the technology they need to take customer loyalty and payment programs to the next level while extending POS to areas beyond traditional checkout lanes.”