A new mobile payment platform which will revolutionise cashless payments for consumers, businesses and the banking industry around the world was launched today in Singapore.
Swiff, which was developed by SCCP Payment Services, will create a new global standard for secure and instantaneous cashless payments between individuals, merchants and banks, using mobile phones and tablets as credit/debit card terminals. Swiff already works on iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android and BlackBerry devices and will soon be available on Windows-based mobile devices.
Swiff is the world's first complete end-to-end solution which provides the same high level of security as existing chip-and-pin debit cards, with the benefits of being completely mobile. A "beta" version used by merchants in select locations across Singapore since June 2011 has verified the technology, which is now being launched worldwide.
"Mobile payments in Asia Pacific are projected to rise to US$267.8 billion by 2016, backed by the rapid acceptance of mobile banking services across the region," said Jerome Cle, Co-founder and CEO of SCCP Payment Services. "There is a high demand in the market for mobile payment solutions which seamlessly plug into any existing eco-system of banks, merchants and customers. Today, Swiff is unique in its ability to do so."
Beyond enabling merchants to generate credit/debit card transactions securely on-the-go, by simply swiping cards through the device, Swiff also instantly encrypts and transmits card data securely to the participating bank. No data is stored within the smartphone or tablet, ensuring customer information is kept safe.
Julienne Loh, Vice-President and Country Manager, Singapore, MasterCard Worldwide said: "Swiff is an easy-to-use and secure platform which brings us one step closer to a world beyond cash, something that we at MasterCard are working towards. We see Swiff playing a significant role not only in increasing small businesses' accessibility to cashless payments, but also helping them reduce costs and improve efficiency. Beyond the benefits to businesses, consumers stand to enjoy even more seamless customer experiences with Swiff, as merchants now have an additional platform to enhance and be creative with the way they interact with their customers."
Swiff is the only mobile payment platform that currently allows merchants and customers the ability to track individual devices and its corresponding location where payments were transacted. "Swiff embeds a Multi-Factor Authentication in the payment application using bank-level security. This provides merchants with a greater confidence to prevent misuse and decrease chargebacks," adds Jerome Cle. Payment authentication is done at four levels - the consumer, the consumer's device, the merchant and the merchant's device.
"Key markets for us include the F&B sector, telecommunications, logistics and hospitality, as well as the millions of businesses throughout the world, including developing economies, that have traditionally been locked out of the lucrative credit card transaction market due to high cost of implementing a credit card terminal," said Etienne Van den Bogaert, Chief Operating Officer.
Etienne Van den Bogaert added, "Businesses improve their efficiency and reduce their costs through lightweight infrastructure, faster transactions and collection of credit card payments. Greater speed and convenience also bring about stronger customer loyalty, increased business opportunities and faster return on investment."
Swiff's complimentary digital loyalty and mobile voucher platform also offers an entire new universe of possibilities for merchants and their acquiring banks, as well as consumers and their credit card issuers by increasing value added services, enhancing mobile payment and loyalty adoption while removing traditional integration and added operating costs.