Apriva reported that the number of U.S. merchants actively using its mobile payment acceptance software, which include its AprivaPay™ Plus and several white-labeled solutions delivered through various channel partners, has increased by over 300 percent over the past year. In addition, the company is reporting substantially higher adoption rates in several major metropolitan areas. Apriva’s mobile payment software allows merchants to accept credit- and debit-card payments on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
“The rapid escalation of mobile payment adoption in urban America, is quite frankly, astounding,” said Chris Spinella, chief executive officer for Apriva, in a prepared statement. “It seems that a combination of factors, including smartphone adoption rates, changing consumer demographics and behavior, and security, are aligning. Legions of smaller merchants, including many brick-and-mortar establishments, are recognizing that smart devices offer a reliable, affordable and safe method to accept payment. We certainly see this trend continuing well through the holiday shopping season and into 2014.”
According to Apriva’s figures, merchants actively using its payment acceptance applications in six major American cities skyrocketed over the past 12 months. In the period from Oct. 1, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2013, merchant activations of Apriva’s mobile payment software rose in the following markets:
Miami 835 percent
Chicago 770 percent
New York 720 percent
Dallas 575 percent
Houston 430 percent
Phoenix 420 percent
Average month-to-month increases ranged from 80 percent to over 500 percent. Apriva’s figures measure downloads in the city proper. Suburban download statistics were not factored into these percentages.
According to Nationwide Payment Solutions, a merchant services provider based in Portland, Maine, merchants—and consumers—seem more comfortable making purchases with smartphones and tablets than in previous years.
“Our recent experiences tell us that consumers seem much less comfortable carrying cash today, particularly in high-traffic, urban areas,” said Jamie Nonni, chief executive officer of Nationwide. “Merchants—including smaller and even seasonal vendors—are now cognizant of this trend, and realize that it’s very simple and affordable to convert a mobile device into a mobile payment terminal. Using these devices is now perceived as a safer, more convenient, and much more acceptable alternative than accepting strictly bills and coins.”
“The rapid growth that Apriva is experiencing with its mobile payments application is not an aberration,” said James Brehm, senior strategist with Compass Intelligence, a market research firm based in San Antonio, Texas. “For years, we’ve been predicting that the explosion of smartphones will have a significant impact on a number of industries, retail being one. Once vendors and consumers become comfortable with the notion of using their phones to conduct payments and participate in location-based marketing programs, the dynamic forever changes.”
Apriva’s mobile payment acceptance solutions are intuitive, user-friendly applications that enable merchants to process card-based payments, as well as record cash-based sales. The application allows Android™ and iOS devices to act as mobile point-of-sale terminals, where merchants can set sales tax rates and incorporate tipping right into the app, providing convenience for customers and ensuring that all income is properly recorded and distributed. It also integrates a search feature that facilitates specific transaction retrieval, as well as an easy-to-use configuration tool that allows merchants to leverage bar codes and images to create specific inventory groups to expedite sales. Branded as AprivaPay Plus, the technology is also white labeled by many financial institutions, merchant services providers and retailers, enabling these businesses to easily deploy their own branded mobile payment acceptance solutions into the marketplace.
The market-leading provider of wireless payment gateway services in North America, Apriva offers a broad portfolio of secure mobile commerce solutions. Its proprietary wireless security protocol, AprivaTalk™, is recognized as among the most efficient encryption technologies in the payments industry. In addition, Apriva maintains relationships with more than 30 payment processers in North America, along with all leading wireless providers. Apriva currently works with some 900 merchant acquirers and Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) across the U.S. and Canada.
