By Jacqueline Chilton
Today, AT&T announces a test of 2D barcodes for mobile at the point of sale (POS). This pilot will be watched with interest. If it works, couponing/loyalty applications on the phone will no longer need to wait for chipset or hardware development to interact with the point of sale. From Glenbrook’s perspective, the most interesting implication is that retailers and marketing services companies can develop applications for point of sale. AT&T is wise to stay in front of this development. AT&T will use technology from Mobile Tag Inc., a provider of universal bar code reader technology.
According to the announcement AT&T is selecting up to 12 enterprise customers to participate in its charter program across key sectors including consumer packaged goods, retail, hospitality and financial services. The consumer barcode technology can be used across a variety of mediums including indoor and outdoor signage, packaging, catalogs, television, the internet, as well as traditional print and mail advertising.
Other examples of 2D barcodes and mobile couponing:
- The Starbucks/mFoundry launch that creates a prepaid card management tool with a 2D barcode that can be read from the phone at point of sale. The hope had been that this required no infrastructure changes, but unfortunately, it seems Starbucks is adding to their traditional POS devices to read the new bar codes. (See more on the mFoundry website here)
- JCPenny and Cellfire are also involved in this area with announcements last September, 2009. (CellFire page here)
For additional information on mobile couponing on visit the archives of our sister blog Payments News here.
The Glenbrook team is comprised of talented professionals from all areas of the payments industry, including business management, marketing, technology, operations, risk management, and business analysis. They have held senior roles at central banks, international banks, card networks, merchants, fintech startups, payments processors, and more. Together, Glenbrook Partners has become known as the go-to source for problem-solving, insights, and learning. Our team of bright minds and critical thinkers is what makes it possible.
Through our education wing, we have educated over 35,000 payments professionals on topics ranging from B2B payments to digital currencies and policy and regulation. Our experienced consultants have helped organizations in 62 countries achieve their goals with strategy advisory, in-depth research, and more. In addition to supporting payment professionals, the Glenbrook team is a valuable resource on the top issues of the day, sharing their experience and insights with professionals eager to understand industry fundamentals and how they are evolving.