How are mobile payments different from card payments?
According to IBM Analytics, nearly half of all e-commerce traffic is done on mobile. Mobile phones provide various ways to transact payments, including online and in-store. Mobile apps, like Starbucks, utilize closed looped gift cards which interact through barcodes and QR readers. Retail apps and others like PayPal also perform web-based or in-app purchases where a customer can shop on the Internet from their phone or tablet.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a technology primarily utilized on mobile wallet platforms (e.g. Samsung Pay, Android Pay, Apple Pay, etc.) which can be used at point of sale terminals inside brick and mortar stores by placing the device near the POS.
Mobile payments have more advanced security than plastic cards, but much of that security is still being tested.
