Rogers trying to beat Google Wallet to the punch

Posted by on
So during our last Hangout Show (#54) we talked about this new potential from Rogers to be able to use our devices to make payments.  I even was at the +AndroidTO and was at a presentation on this topic.

Hrmm... paying for items with our phone.  Sounds oddly familiar.  For quite some time Google Wallet  has not been available in Canada.  But paying for devices with your phone ... at least in some limited capacity is soon to be available via Rogers with their new Suretap.

First, what is Suretap?



Sounds great doesn't it.

But in order for it to work you need 4 things:

  1. A CIBC account
  2. A suretap device
    1. not sure who certifies the suretap - and right now it's only listing the BlackBerry 9900 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 as 'able'
  3. A suretap SIM card
    1. implied is that you have to be a Rogers customer
  4. MobilePayment app



Again, sounds cool - but it limits you to the realm of CIBC & Rogers.  But maybe to pay for your coffee with your phone is worth it?

Note:  there's a comment on the Rogers Redboard:  http://redboard.rogers.com/2013/mobile-payments-evolve-rogers-to-launch-suretap-wallet/comment-page-1/#comment-216603
You don’t need a CIBC MasterCard to use the suretap wallet. At launch, you’ll be able to use a Rogers Prepaid MasterCard. We’re also working to get additional credit, debit and loyalty cards on the wallet so you’ll have even more choice.

The other thing is how doe devices get to be 'certified' for suretap?  I don't see how the S3 can, but the S4 couldn't...

What's really disturbing for me is the fact that if you go to the Google Wallet page, you'll be able to log in, and use it to pay for the Play Store etc... I've even used it to buy from Humble Bundle.  When you used to use the app it would say "not available by your carrier"; now it tells us just 'country'.  Why is that?  If we can use the service, just not the app... that doesn't make sense.

What will be most interesting to see is how the new 4.4 update will play into all of this.

One of the things that I learned about during the conference was the need for that secure element.  Carriers want that in your SIM, whereas in the device would be my preferred option.  And 4.4 will allow for a 'virtual' or emulated secure element.  This means that devices that may not have the hardware can virtualize.  I'll have to ask +Tom Gray to see if he can use Wallet... all info thus far point to the fact that you'd still need a US SIM card... or at least an American address in your Wallet account.

I say go on the Rogers Redboard post and leave a comment with them that they should open those doors a little wider.

Sources:



Comments

Post a Comment