IngenicoePayments, the online and mobile commerce division of Ingenico Group, and Ingenico Labs, its innovation department, have jointly developed a completely new way to make secure online payments on a mobile device, simply by tapping a payment card against it. TapHero is a new, experimental technology that combines elements from both Card-Present and Card-Not-Present payments, and will enable smartphones equipped with an NFC reader to simply read the payment data from the card’s chip and auto-populate all the fields required to make a mobile payment. Furthermore, Ingenico is adding a feature layer that simulates a card-present payment, for increased security. The company will show a live demo of TapHero on booth #2612 at the Money20/20 conference, which takes place in Las Vegas from October 23-26. General availability is planned for 2017.

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have overtaken traditional desktop computers as the primary source of traffic for many online businesses. However, consumers are less likely to convert their visits into sales when shopping on their mobile devices, in large part because on many online stores, the checkout process is not optimised to provide a seamless mobile experience. The small screen and touch interface make entering data such as credit card numbers cumbersome, leading many consumers to abort their purchase. With its Ingenico Connect offering, IngenicoePayments already provides merchants with a suite of tools and services for mobile optimisation. TapHero will add a completely new way to remove obstacles for consumers and enable an easy, seamless payment process that boosts conversion of visits into sales.

TapHero is easy to integrate into a merchant’s checkout page, and will automatically detect the presence of an NFC reader. As such, the majority of smartphones currently on the market already support the technology, and those that don’t will not be presented the option to avoid confusion. Consumers don’t have to download anything, register their data or create an account to use the solution, and sensitive card data is never stored on the mobile device to further enhance privacy and security. Ingenico clients will be able to simply add the functionality as part of their Ingenico Connect integration.

“Mobile commerce is here, and will continue to drive our industry forward. Yet we see many online businesses struggle to really take full advantage of that opportunity,” said Ludovic Houri, Vice President, Products at IngenicoePayments. “TapHero is developed using proven technology from Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payment. Leveraging our deep expertise and leadership in contactless and EMV payments will allow us to provide a real breakthrough in user experience to drive conversion above and beyond what merchants were used to” 

To see a live demo of TapHero, please visit the Ingenico Group booth #2612 at Money20/20.