Do You Need The Apple Watch?

I have been reading and watching all the press around the Apple watch and I ask myself whether I or anyone really needs this watch. I stopped wearing a watch years ago as I can look at my iPhone and get the time. So why do I now need the Apple watch?

Let's compare the Apple watch to other similar devices and see if we can discover a compelling reason to get the Apple watch.

My wife uses the Nike+ Fuel...she works out and I don't but that is for another post.  The Nike+Fuel is only for tracking your work out and measuring your movements.  And you still need the app for iOS to track and share your activity with your iPhone. The Nike+Fuel is only for exercise related activities but it is easy and convenient.  You are not using your Nike+Fuel for anything else. Period.  It is for tracking your exercise and movements.

The Apple Watch may track exercise related activities as well if not better than a Nike+Fuel, but you will still need to share your activity with your iPhone.  But since the Apple Watch will have multiple functions, will it be as easy and convenient as the Nike+Fuel?  And if the reason for a device to wear on your wrist is for exercise only, paying $79 for the Nike+Fuel is far cheaper than $349 for the Apple Watch and probably having to pay for an exercise app.

The thing that both the Nike+Fuel and Apple Watch have in common is the need to use the iPhone. Do we really need the Apple Watch at a high price, which works only if you have an iPhone 6 in your wallet.  Why not use the phone you already have? 

I have a Bushnell Neo XS golf watch, which provides the time and date like a normal watch, but is pre-loaded with over 30,000 golf courses. When I go to the course, I hit play golf, select the course and up comes the distance to the hole.  The screen is easy to read and automatically updates to the next hole. The watch can be used for 3 rounds of golf before it needs to be charged.  And if not used for golf, the watch can run for months before needing a charge.  

Again, the Apple Watch may have a number of apps available for golf, and there is one available now for $29.99, but will they be as easy and straightforward as my Bushnell?  Will the apps have too many features? Will the apps want to keep attempting to cross-sell or upgrade me?  

When playing golf I want it to work easily and automatically without any distractions.  The Bushnell costs around $199 and it only is good for golf. Period.  The Apple Watch will cost me $349 plus $29.00 for the golf app, but I can do more than just play golf.  

The battery life could be a concern, with the Apple Watch getting 18 hours with mixed use.  Will it actually last for an entire round of golf?  Or 3 rounds of golf like my Bushnell?  There has been articles saying that the user has to continue to "flick your wrist" to wake up the watch so it does not run down your battery.  Will I have to flick my wrist to get the distance for my next golf shot?  I hope not.  

The bottom line is that I am not going to buy the Apple Watch - at least not now.  There are too many unknowns with the Apple Watch for me to make the investment.  

It seems having a "specific use" type of watch may be the best approach for me in terms of cost and functionality.  I will wait and see what apps are available, the cost of the apps, battery life, etc. before buying the Apple Watch.

Starbucks App Review

Starbucks was an early innovator in the area of turning their gift cards into a prepaid funds account to purchase products at Starbucks.  They introduced their loyalty program in 2008, leveraging their gift card, and began beta testing a mobile app for the Starbucks card in 2009.

In 2012 Starbucks partnered with Square to process their credit and debit cards, and invested $25 million in the startup.  Customers could use the mobile Square Wallet to pay and at the time it looked like Starbucks would stop future development on their own mobile payment app.

 

In 2014 Starbucks stopped using Square and launched their own mobile payments solution.

Starbucks has become the most successful mobile payments solution in the world.  According to a Forbes article this past January, “the giant chain of coffee joints claims up to 90% of the $1.6 billion spent in U.S. stores using a smartphone in 2013, and 2014 probably wasn’t much different despite the introduction of Apple Pay in October. In its holiday quarter report, Starbucks said momentum continued to build for its mobile app, which allows customers to pay for a Frappuccino with a wave of their smartphone at the checkout counter.

In its first fiscal report of 2015 ended Dec. 28, the company said it had more than 13 million mobile users in the U.S., up from 12 million reported in October. They made some 7 million mobile transactions a week, constituting 16% of transactions.”[1]

Now let’s take a look at how it works and how it rates against the questions posed in my earlier post.

The first step is to purchase a Starbucks Card, their gift card, which can be loaded from $5 to $100. Registering the Starbucks Card online is the next step and you automatically join their loyalty program.

Registration

The online registration is simple and easy starting with the creation of your profile with a User Name and Password.  The site asks for your address, whether you want to add Facebook and Twitter, contact information and preferences.

You add your Starbucks Card by entering the card number and Card Security Number from the back of the card. Setting up the Auto-Reload feature is easy by linking your PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express card to your account.  You pick the reload dollar amount and set the threshold dollar amount that activates the reload.

Auto-Reload Note:

I wonder if Starbucks will add other ways to reload, such as linking your bank account.  Cheaper transaction cost for Starbucks and maybe they could offer richer rewards for people that elect this feature versus a card.

Their online site allows you to transfer funds from other Starbucks Cards you may receive as gifts, you can view your last six months of transactions, report lost/stolen cards and much more. 

Rewards Program

The Starbucks Reward program is based on frequency wherein you earn stars for making purchases.  Upon receiving 12 stars, you receive a free drink or food reward.  The rewards do have an expiration date.

Rewards Note:

I believe Starbucks will need to rejuvenate their rewards program to make it more engaging to customers and to drive customer behavior in that benefits Starbucks.  Today it is a frequency program, and does not take into account monetary attributes such as buying more than one item, size of drink or type of drink. The customer that buys a Venti coffee for $2.35 earns the same as the customer who buys a Venti Latte for $3.95.  Also, there is no bonus for recency…meaning no bonus for coming daily or coming in during slow hours.

At Point-of-Sale

Very easy to use the app at the point of sale.  You can use the Starbucks app to pay or add your card to iPhone Passbook.  After your place your order, place your phone in front of the barcode scanner and you are done!  No need to get a receipt or leave cash for a tip, as you receive a message to your mobile device wherein you can see what you purchased and leave a tip.

Now let me respond specifically to my list of questions and ratings from the original blog article.  The rating is from a general public perspective, on each of the category questions listed here, on a scale of 1, 2 or 3.  

•         1 (Confusing, Needs Work)

•         2 (Okay, Average)

•         3 (Easy, Better Than Most)

The rating is based on the individual wallet, and not compared against other wallets, since I have not worked with all of the wallets as of today. I will do an overall rating at the end of my e-wallet journey.

  

1.              How is the wallet marketed/advertised to the general public?  What media channels?  How do I know the wallet exists? What is the message to me?

The advertising is everywhere. Rating: 3

2.              Why do I need this mobile wallet?  (Isn’t this the first question that needs to be answered in a manner that is simple and straightforward for the general public?) What issue does it address?  How is my life better by using the wallet?

This is a key question to be answered by all the wallets/apps.  In the case of Starbucks it is an easy answer…if you want to receive rewards, you have to get a Starbucks Card, register it online and use the card and/or mobile app to make purchases.  With auto reload, using your mobile device to make purchases is easy and you are never out of money.  The card can be added to iPhone Passbook.  Also, peer pressure plays a big part…you see others using their mobile device and you want to as well!

Rating: 3

3.               Is it a payment-only wallet?  Does it have loyalty/rewards?  Other benefits?

This is intended to be a prepaid card with a loyalty program.  This is a merchant-centric app and can only be used at Starbucks.   Rating: 3        

                   

4.              How do I get the wallet?  Download from iTunes app store?  Scan a QR code? Go to a web site? 

You download from the app store. Rating: 2

5.              Now that I have downloaded the app to my mobile phone, how difficult is it for me to register/set up?  Are there a few simple steps or do you need to be a nuclear engineer to figure it out?  Does it ask from my bank account information?  My debit/credit card number?

Set up as described above was very easy and straightforward.  Rating: 3

6.              Where can I use the mobile wallet?  How many stores (real brick-and-mortar stores) not online stores - use it at Point-of-sale (POS) locations? Transit?

The app can be used only at Starbucks and can be used for in-store purchases and you can order online.   Rating: 2

7.              What is the POS set up –stand alone tablet? Integrated cash register?  Typical card reader POS?  Contact-less/NFC?

The Starbucks Card is a barcode that is scanned at the POS.   Easy for both merchant and customer to use.  Rating: 3

8.               Is the POS experience easy?  Hard?  Confusing?  Does it actually work?

Easy…easy…easy.   Rating: 3

9.              What information do I get sent to me after the sale?  Do I get my receipt emailed to me?  A text message?  Is the transaction listed on my wallet?  Did I earn points?

I received a mobile message immediately after the transaction with details of my transaction and the ability to leave a tip.   Rating: 3

10.          Are there fees? Do I need to reload my wallet (manually or automatically)? Is the transaction a prepaid card?  Or my debit/credit card?  Does it use the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network?

No fees.  The app is a prepaid card linked to a bank card. Rating: 2

Starbucks is the leader for merchant-centric payment/loyalty apps.  They set the standard for everyone else!

Next up will be Square.

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[1][1][1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2015/01/22/once-again-starbucks-shows-google-and-apple-how-to-do-mobile-payment/

Google Wallet Review

Google Wallet came back in new way in early 2014. And recently they acquired Softcard so look for more changes in the future. In the current wallet they have moved away from a NFC-only focus to an e-wallet that will work with all mobile phones and have drastically reduced the friction with merchants, banks, mobile carriers and customers compared to their initial wallet.

Downloading the Google Wallet app to my iPhone was quick and easy.  After downloading the wallet, it asks you to “sign in with your Google Account” or “create an account”.

After signing in, and giving my Zip Code (as you must live in the U.S.), and agreeing to the T&C and allowing messages to be pushed to me, I was instructed to create a Wallet PIN.

After confirming my PIN, it takes me to My Wallet home screen.  Unless you have gone to the Google web site and read about the wallet, and about the Google Card, there is nothing within the wallet itself that promotes getting the card.  Again, I am using an iPhone and the Tap/Pay feature is not available.

The Send & Receive money function requires Google to verify your identity.   Before I do the verification steps, I wanted to understand program Fees. Fees are as follows:
• Free to send money directly from your bank account or using the balance in your Google Wallet
• Fee of 2.9% per transaction (min. of $0.30) to send money using a credit or debit card
• Receiving money and transferring to your bank account is always free

An interesting note is when you go the Google Wallet web site, and click on Send Money it takes you automatically to add a Credit Card and not the verify your identity step.  Additionally, you have the option to order your Google Card and when you click to order, it takes you to verify your identity page.

The Verification process is Name, Address, Birth date and last 4-digits of Social Security number.  As soon as the verification process is approved, the Send Money options immediately change to reflect an option to add a funding source, by linking a bank account and/or debit or credit card.  Additionally, the wallet home page is changed to reflect a Wallet Balance dollar amount and a new banner appears advertising that you can get the Google Wallet Card.   It seems the Verification step is the critical step that activates the options of the card and bank account.  They don’t want to go too far down the path before they do the standard verification steps.

Now lets take a look at the Offers and Loyalty program features.  Under the Loyalty program tab you have the option of adding your own program or selecting from a pre-populated list of programs such as Walgreens to Marriott.  If you have a loyalty program card that is not listed, the wallet asks you to scan the barcode on the card using the built in scanner.  If no barcode, you can enter the account number manually.  For the list of programs, you can enter your account number, or if not an existing member, join the program.

A very easy and straight forward process to setup your cards. When using the barcode, it automatically recognizes the program name (i.e., CVS extra care) and adds the card to the wallet along with the barcode and account number.  You have the option to pick card color as an option.  When using a pre-existing program such as Marriott Rewards, you enter our Marriott number, it verifies the account and brings back your number of points and program level such as Gold. When you click on the Marriott card, it takes you to another page that provides a banner page for Marriott, messages, view your hotel bill, and other links to Marriott and related promotions such as their co-branded credit card.  The additional page with links, messages and promotions are only available to those companies that are pre-listed within the loyalty program.

The Offers tab is a little confusing. You need to find Google Offers while on the web and add them to your Google Wallet.  It would be better if Google would add offers automatically to my wallet. I could not find any Offers to add.

Now lets review the Google Wallet Balance and adding your bank account to fund the wallet.  Since this is a free option, I will be adding my bank account and not a credit or debit card wherein I will incur a 2.9% fee.  They do inform you that bank transactions usually take 3 days but can take up to 10 days.

Entering the bank account information was very easy.  They clearly identified the information required and where/how to find the information.  The next step was the account verification step.  You can verify immediately by entering your bank account Member/User ID and Password, which links your bank account, or the Challenge Deposit, which takes 2 to 3 days to verify.  As I did not want to link my account and I was curious about the Challenge Deposit method, I selected Challenge Deposit.

In the Challenge Deposit process, Google will make a deposit of an amount up to a $1 to your bank account.  You check your bank account, look for the deposit amount, and they enter the amount in the wallet to complete the account verification step.  This took two days in my case.

I ordered the Google Card, which arrived in approximately 3 weeks, and it is a MasterCard Prepaid card.  The MasterCard logo and hologram is on the back of the card.   Card activation was achieved via the Wallet.  Next step was to add funds to my Wallet, and I go online to my bank account and look for the Google Challenge Deposit I outlined above.  I find an $0.80 cents deposit transaction and go to my Wallet to enter the deposit amount.  Google Wallet verifies the amount is correct and I am now able to add funds to my Wallet.  I elect to add $20, and the transaction adds the $20 immediately.  Even though I was expecting to wait 2 to 3 days for the funds to appear, it occurs immediately.  Google communicates that adding funds from your banking account could take up to 5 days, but they note that only a small percentage take more than 2 days.

Add Funds Note:  The process is very easy and straightforward.  It does seem that Google must be doing some fraud/security steps during the add funds process.  In my case they added the funds immediately, no waiting, which means they were willing to take the risk that I had the $20 in my bank account, since it takes at least 1 day via ACH to receive funds. If Google is willing to take the risk, could they create a “near real time” ACH type of payment?  Something that the Federal Reserve is studying, and banks say will take years to implement, if ever, as they say they do not understand the business case to support it.

First use of the Google Card was at Home Depot on one of my 3 trips per project visits!   The clerk had never seen a Google Card and didn't think it would work.  I swiped the card and it asked from my PIN number and transaction was approved.  Before I left the store I received a mobile message with my transaction information and my current Wallet Balance.  It worked just as easily as my bank’s debit card and actually was a much better experience in that my bank does not automatically send me via app message/text message my transaction information and my current bank account balance!

Google Card Note:  The Google Card works just as easily as my bank debit card at the POS and it has the ability to add greater functionality in the future such as automatically utilizing Offers and Loyalty programs at the point-of-sale.  The one big negative with the Google Card, is that it will decline any transaction that is “greater” than my current Wallet Balance.  They do not automatically pull funds from my bank account or registered credit/debit card, they decline the transaction.  They do not offer the feature to “top off” my Wallet Balance automatically by allowing me to set floor limits, wherein my Wallet Balance reaches a specified balance, they add funds automatically (like my Starbucks wallet).  Google’s approach is to have me control my authorization of funds to transfer to my Wallet balance.

As I have an iPhone, I was unable to use the Tap/Pay feature of Google Wallet.

Now let me respond specifically to my list of questions and ratings from the original blog article  The rating is from a general public perspective, on each of the category questions listed here, on a scale of 1, 2 or 3.
• 1 (Confusing, Needs Work)
• 2 (Okay, Average)
• 3 (Easy, Better Than Most)
The rating is based on the individual wallet, and not compared against other wallets, since I have not worked with all of the wallets as of today. I will do an overall rating at the end of my e-wallet journey.


1. How is the wallet marketed/advertised to the general public?  What media channels?  How do I know the wallet exists? What is the message to me?
The advertising seems to be limited to online, and someone has to be looking to add the wallet.  You can see it listed as an option on your Google account.  I have not noticed this advertised in any other media channels, so you have to be looking for this wallet.  The message to consumers is that the wallet is for shopping, saving and paying.  Doing ecommerce faster/quicker seems to be the main message. Rating: 2

2. Why do I need this mobile wallet?  (Isn’t this the first question that needs to be answered in a manner that is simple and straightforward for the general public?) What issue does it address?  How is my life better by using the wallet?
This is a key question to be answered by all the wallets.  As I think about this from a general consumer (from the perspective of my wife - Lisa).  Why would I want to download this wallet?  What can I do that I can’t already do with my credit/debit cards in my physical wallet?  Lisa said that if she could save all her Loyalty cards to the wallet, this would be convenient and she wouldn’t have to carry all the cards in her purse.  From my point-of-view, they have not answered this question for me – more on this later.  Also, the type of device (iPhone or Android) will dictate whether you are a fan of Google Wallet. Rating: 1

3. Is it a payment-only wallet?  Does it have loyalty/rewards?  Other benefits?
This is intended to be an all-in-one wallet, with P2P, POS, and loyalty and offers all in one wallet.  It does not have its own loyalty/rewards program, but provides access to other programs.  It comes with a MasterCard card and Tap/Pay, which does provide in-store functionality.  Rating: 3

4. How do I get the wallet?  Download from iTunes app store?  Scan a QR code? Go to a web site?
You download from the app store. Rating: 2

5. Now that I have downloaded the app to my mobile phone, how difficult is it for me to register/set up?  Are there a few simple steps or do you need to be a nuclear engineer to figure it out?  Does it ask from my bank account information?  My debit/credit card number?
Set up as described above was very easy and straightforward.  Rating: 3

6. Where can I use the mobile wallet?  How many stores (real brick-and-mortar stores) not online stores - use it at Point-of-sale (POS) locations.  Transit?
The mobile Wallet can be used by Android devices at NFC enabled POS locations, but not many are actually working.  The Wallet can be used for online/internet shopping where the Google Wallet icon is available at checkout. The Wallet can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted via the Google Wallet Card, which is a MasterCard Prepaid account.  The Wallet Card does provide the user with the ability to use the Wallet wherever MasterCard is accepted.  On the other hand, it only accesses the balance in your Wallet and does not automatically “top-off” balances. A transaction will be declined if your current Wallet Balance is not great enough to cover it.   Rating: 1

7. What is the POS set up –stand alone tablet? Integrated cash register?  Typical card reader POS?  Contact-less/NFC?
Wallet can only be used via the Google Wallet Card, which is a MasterCard debit card.  Merchants do not have to do anything special to accept the payment.  In order to use the Tap/Pay, the POS has to be NFC enabled.  Rating: 3 (From a merchant perspective)

8. Is the POS experience easy?  Hard?  Confusing?  Does it actually work?
Yes and No! Easy…same steps as using a standard Visa/MC debit card when using the Google Card.  At participating merchants the Tap/Pay works for Android users.  And it “does not work” at the POS for iPhone users. Rating: 1 (From a customer perspective)

9. What information do I get sent to me after the sale?  Do I get my receipt emailed to me?  A text message?  Is the transaction listed on my wallet?  Did I earn points?
I received a mobile message immediately after the transaction with details of my transaction.  Rating: 3

10. Are there fees? Do I need to reload my wallet (manually or automatically)? Is the transaction a prepaid card?  Or my debit/credit card?  Does it use the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network?
No fees if linking your Wallet to your bank account.  I need to manually reload my wallet; there is no automatically topping off if balance falls below a specified threshold.  You can link to your credit/debit card, and fees apply as I outlined above. Rating: 2


Overall I like the Google Wallet.  It is easy to set up and use as a P2P application and having the Google Card allows it to be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted.  But will I use it?  Not as a payment tool.  I am not someone that sees the value in P2P and I can easily use any one of my exiting credit/debit cards in my “physical” wallet.  Will I use it to store my loyalty/reward cards?  Maybe.  I already have used CardStar for a number of years for that purpose, so do I take the time to set up the Google version?  Not sure.  How about the Offers?  Again, in my area there are no enticing offers.

The bottom line, Google Wallet has not answered for me (maybe for other people (Android users) they have) the basic question of “Why do I need/want to download this app to my mobile phone?” Tap/Pay may make for a more compelling reason if you are an Android user but probably never if you are an iPhone user.

Next up will be Starbucks.

Payment Wallets or Merchant Apps? Who Will Win?

As someone that is very involved in the payments industry, attends conferences, reads the industry publications and generally interested in all things payment related, even I am surprised at the number of mobile payment wallets that are available, and I am not counting all of the merchant apps with payment capabilities.  Everyone wants me to download their wallet or app to my mobile phone – from Starbucks, to Square Wallet to Google and the list goes on.  So I have decided to take a journey over the next few weeks and experience a variety of mobile payment wallets and apps that are available in the US marketplace and will end with Apple Pay.

With so many competing wallets, it has become too confusing and too burdensome for the consumer to select any wallet. MasterCard, American Express, Discover and Visa have their wallets, banks have their wallets, card issuers have their wallets and there are a number of general purpose wallets.

And it seems as though every merchant has an app and many, like Chipotle and Starbucks, have their own app with payment capabilities, …everyone has a wallet or an app!  Will consumers have 200 payment wallets and payment apps on their mobile device?

Based on my research, there must be over 100 competing mobile payment wallets available today and new ones are being added every day[1] and probably hundreds of merchant-centric apps.

Before I start my journey, I want to outline some questions that I believe need to be answered by each wallet and app I test.   And the questions are really from the perspective of the general public (not us payments people).  Here are mine, and I would like to hear from others on questions that you would like to address.  Here are my questions in a chronological order:

How is the wallet marketed/advertised to the general public? What media channels?  How do I know the wallet exists? What is the message to me?

1. Why do I need this mobile wallet? (Isn’t this the first question that needs to be answered in a manner that is simple and straightforward for the general public?) What issue does it address?  How is my life better by using the wallet?
2. Is it a payment-only wallet? Does it have loyalty/rewards?  Other benefits?
3. How do I get the wallet? Download from iTunes app store?  Scan a QR code? Go to a web site?
4. Now that I have downloaded the app to my mobile phone, how difficult is it for me to register/set up? Are there a few simple steps or do you need to be a nuclear engineer to figure it out?  Does it ask from my bank account information?  My debit/credit card number?
5. Where can I use the mobile wallet? How many stores (real brick-and-mortar stores) not online stores - use it at Point-of-sale (POS) locations.  Transit?
6. What is the POS experience?  Contact-less/NFC? QR code?
7. Is the POS experience easy? Hard?  Confusing?  Does it actually work?
8. What information do I get sent to me after the sale? Do I get my receipt emailed to me?  A text message?  Is the transaction listed on my wallet?  Did I earn points?
9. Are there fees? Do I need to reload my wallet (manually or automatically)? Is the transaction a prepaid card? Or my debit/credit card?  Does it use the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network?

These are just some of the questions I intend to answer, and I am sure as I go through my journal, I will add more questions. In addition to answering the questions, I will rate each of the wallets and apps from a general public perspective, on each of the category questions listed here, on a scale of 1, 2 or 3.

• 1 (Confusing, Needs Work)
• 2 (Okay, Average)
• 3 (Easy, Better Than Most)

How many wallet apps are too many?

The following are just some of the wallets and apps that I will review in the coming weeks:

1. Square Wallet
2. Google Wallet
3. bPay
4. CardStar
5. LevelUp
6. Belly
7. Venmo
8. PayPal
9. MocaPay
10. Starbucks, and many more

First up will be the Google Wallet!  Check back to see how Google fared.

[1]  http://www.pymnts.com/assets/Uploads/Guides/MobileWallet/mobile-wallet-guide.html#mw-a