The incessant debate over mobile payment standards, the seemingly endless stream of “let’s throw this against the wall to see if it sticks” product launches, the will it/won’t it debate over Apple payments has obscured a simple truth: several mobile payments companies are already selling their wares — successfully.
News today of two notable sales “wins” reinforced this fact.
LevelUp announced that it won the contract to private-label a payments app for Planet Sub, a chain of sandwich shops with 35 locations across the Midwest. Is this a huge win? Probably not. But it is a win nonetheless — and Planet Sub’s Dagwood’s Dream sandwich with roast beef, smoked ham, pastrami, provolone, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and horseradish sounds particularly interesting.
Meanwhile, NCR, yes that NCR, won the deal to private-label the mobile payments app for Rhodes 101. Like Planet Sub, Rhodes 101 is a middling chain of 28 gas stations and convenience stores, also in the Midwest. As Rhodes 101 puts it, “When you step foot into one of our stores, we guarantee you will be satisfied, because we do our best to make sure We Got Whatchya Need!” That should satisfy NCR, too.
What NCR and LevelUp are doing in the US, MyOrder, the payments startup that is owned by Rabobank, is undertaking in Europe. The company’s sales efforts have scored MyOrder deals with a host of major retail chains, particularly in the Netherlands, where it can be used in around 11,000 locations, including Shell gas stations and Erasmus University Rotterdam. The startup, which is currently cross-promoting its product with the ongoing World Field Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands, continues to stick to a sales-first operational focus — largely ignoring the chatter about whether or not mobile payments “are here to stay.”
As it should.