7 Bank Projects That Surpassed Apple Pay
October 28, 2015 11:00 AM
Apple Pay debuted last year as an enabler for many banks that were itching to get involved with mobile payments. But a few banks were able to leap ahead of Apple Pay with their own technology.
Chase Pay
JPMorgan's own mobile wallet product, Chase Pay, is set to launch in mid-2016. The bank partnered with Merchant Customer Exchange, a consortium of major retailers including Walmart, Target and Best Buy, to tie loyalty and rewards programs to the mobile wallet. "That's how you drive adoption. You give [consumers] a reason to use it ," says Chase Card Services CEO Eileen Serra, pictured.
Capital One Wallet
When Apple Pay launched, Capital One quickly set out to differentiate itself with ads that showcased what its own Capital One Wallet app adds to the core set of Apple Pay features. More recently, the bank brought tap-and-pay capabilities to its Android app.
RBC Wallet
RBC was already ahead of Apple when Apple Pay launched. The bank had been experimenting with Host Card Emulation technology to develop a tap-and-pay system for Android. "HCE has made it easier for our clients to use the RBC Wallet, and has accelerated the adoption of the wallet," said Jeremy Bornstein, head of payments innovation at RBC.
bPay from Barclaycard
Barclaycard was in no rush to adopt Apple Pay when it launched in the U.K.; the issuer already had a full suite of bPay-branded mobile technologies for retail and person-to-person payments. It recently began selling bPay-equipped wristbands and keyfobs to give consumers payment options that aren't married to their smartphones.
CaixaBank
Last year, CaixaBank was doing in Spain what Barclaycard was doing in the U.K. distributing wearable payment bands for consumers to make contactless payments. The difference is that Apple Pay still hasn't arrived in Spain, giving CaixaBank a head start with a more streamlined technology.
Bankinter
Also in Spain, Bankinter used Host Card Emulation to develop a tap-and-pay Android app in early 2014. Its "mobile virtual card" app could store multiple credit and debit cards and was designed to work with existing EMV and contactless payment terminals.
clearXchange
The clearXchange venture, founded by JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America in 2011, was designed to be a multi-bank person-to-person payment network. But it has discussed branching out to other applications, and those three banks alone account for over half of the U.S. online and mobile banking population.
