Accepting on-site payment is now a simple tap on a cell phone
By Samuel Mulligan, Mobeewave
The construction industry in North America is facing considerable pressure to decrease costs, improve productivity and improve its competitive edge with respect to quality of service and customer satisfaction. Recent advancements in mobile technology provide new ways of addressing all of these issues.
The role of emerging mobile technologies is becoming more important as a way to enable the construction industry to remain competitive because it offers access to real-time technology, more accurate and organized reporting information, and a greater ability to integrate information. Moreover, mobile technology facilitates more efficient on-site payment. This aspect of mobile technology is especially important for contractors.
As society moves towards being fully cashless, the gaps between physical and digital payments are closing. However, there remains one type of payment that needs to be addressed – cash-in-hand transactions. One North American company is enabling construction companies to address this gap. Montreal-based Mobeewave has been a pioneering force in the mobile payment space since its inception in 2012 and has created a patented solution enabling contactless payment on smart devices such as a cell phone. This technology is revolutionizing the way small- and medium-sized businesses operate.
Mobile banking presents great opportunities for contractors and construction companies to meet the growing expectations of consumers with regards to ease of payment in this new mobile age. A technology that provides a mobile-only solution rather than other 20th century payment solutions, such as cash or cheques, is an important advance.
Mobeewave’s solution enables anyone to accept money from a contactless card or a mobile wallet using only a smart mobile device – no other hardware is required. This technology enables micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses to collect payments from their customers with the swipe of the customer’s credit card against their mobile phone.
The flexibility of the Mobeewave solution means that the platform is not limited by geographical restrictions. The fact that it can offer value to licensees in both mature and emerging contactless markets means that the platform could ultimately be deployed globally. Currently, Mobeewave has deployed its technology in Canada, Australia and Europe – with roll outs in other markets, including the United States, to be announced shortly.
Last year Mobeewave signed a global partnership agreement with Samsung Electronics – making its platform available on over 250 million Samsung devices around the world. Through this strategic partnership, Mobeewave’s technology enables anyone with a Samsung phone to collect payments from their customers by having the customer wave his or her credit card against the payment collector’s Samsung phone.
Resistance to new software technology, especially in the field, is a challenge faced by many construction companies. Software suppliers have responded by making user interfaces more intuitive by improving the performance of and support for their products, and by making it easier to integrate applications and data across workflows. Real-world experience over the past decade has also created a wealth of proven best practices for deploying mobile technology successfully. The construction site is not viewed as a leader in the use of mobile technology, but studies reveal that it is being used by more than half of construction professionals on construction sites. It is, therefore, a short step for many construction companies to employ mobile technology for payment purposes. 