Use what you’ve got. That’s the motto a new payment startup is adopting.
Rather than wait for the majority of mobile phones to become equipped with NFC chips, a startup Zoosh is utilizing features that mobile phones already have — microphones and speakers — to make mobile payments more of a reality today.
Zoosh, developed by Naratte Inc., uses ultrasonic technology to transfer data, like payment details, and already runs on iPhones, Androids, tablets, and more interestingly, feature phones. In other words, the technology won’t be exclusive to smartphone users, and that bodes better for ubiquity efforts. Plus, it requires no network connection, which overcomes the what-if-there’s-no-internet hurdle. Another thing the tech has going for it: No additional hardware is required of merchants or consumers.
According to a release, Zoosh’s partners are integrating the technology for a myriad of applications and environments, including “phone-to-phone and phone-to-POS payments, phone-to-POS loyalty systems, and digital couponing.”
Though the startup made a huge marketing splash today in the media, in order for the technology to endure, Zoosh will have to overcome many marketing challenges lying ahead. Those future headaches include convincing consumers and merchants why they should use the technology, and inevitably competing a lot or a little with NFC, technology that has many major players on board, including Google. Regardless of the future, the startup flexed a lot of innovation muscle today, and that’s good for the whole industry.