MPOS Tracker® January 13, 2014

January 13, 2014

This monthly report is designed to organize the mobile point-of-sale ecosystem, one that has emerged over the last several years as smartphones and tablets deliver new point-of-sale acceptance capabilities for all categories of merchants. This report, sponsored by ROAM, provides an initial overview of those players who have entered this space, including a description of their capabilities, solution features and functions, and customer and go- to-market priorities. This report organizes the ecosystem into two broad categories: those merchant-facing organizations that supply devices to merchants directly, and those that “power” those players and supply them with the MPOS hardware, software, tools and services that helps merchant-facing organizations meet their customer needs.

The mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) market continued its pattern of strong growth this December, setting the stage for even more expansion and innovation as the sector heads toward what some are predicting will be its eventual acceptance into mainstream commerce in 2014.

Our latest December MPOS Tracker reveals the characteristics that are coming to define this next stage in the mPOS expansion. As previously predicted by our Tracker team, the market is become increasingly ripe for acquisitions. A number were finalized in the last days of December, including a split purchase of GoPago between Amazon and DoubleBeam. In that deal, Amazon received licensing rights and some of the development team with DoubleBeam picked up a number of key hardware assets.

This consolidation could become one of the key mPOS trends of 2014. Our December 2013 report demonstrates that acquisitions and mergers are likely to play a role in how players both big and small adapt to the shifting landscape. This process will no doubt be fuelled by growing adoption of mPOS technology by both consumers and merchants.

Four new players joined the MPOS Tracker ranks this month, including 1010, a Hong Kong-based mobile operator, and Tantrum Street, developer of Cartwheel Register, Kazcommercbank and Vivo.

The report also provides updates for eight existing players in the mPOS space: iZettle, I Love Velvet, PayAnywhere, Payleven, Square, PayPal Here, YESPay and GoPago.

As the major players in the market position themselves for 2014, research from the University of Arkansas suggested, it’s not so much the mPOS player that matters, but the platform.

“With support from the Retail Industry leaders Association, Assistant Professor John Aoysius studied 26 different merchant categories to determine that – drum roll please – no one mPOS solution fits each category. This only reinforces what we’ve been saying now for a while – merchants shouldn’t pick a player, but pick a platform that can support merchants as their businesses evolve,” the report states.

What mPOS market forces fully took shape during December? What events will be the catalyst for future growth in 2014? For more insights into mPOS’ future growth, as well as our takeaways for December, download a full copy of this month’s report here.

PAST MPOS TRACKER REPORTS

Click here to download the November 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the October 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the September 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the August 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the July 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the June 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the May 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the April 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the March 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the February 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here to download the January 2013 MPOS Tracker® report.

Click here for the full 2012 MPOS Tracker® report.

It is worth noting that this ecosystem is moving quickly and this report is by no means complete. Information about these players is available in varying degrees of completeness. Details about volumes and shipments – the information that everyone finds most valuable – is not publicly available. We plan to update this report on a monthly basis to include new entrants, and updates on the players profiled in the prior month’s report. We are also in the process of compiling and will report out aggregated information about shipments and volumes. We encourage you to contact us at mobilepos@pymnts.com if you would like to be included in this report and/or would like us to update your information as we have presented it.

December 2013 MPOS PYRAMID

Download the December MPOS Tracker® here.