Developer Tracker: Say Hello To … Biometric Rent Payments?

With new payment offerings constantly hitting the market, companies have to stay atop the latest technologies to ensure they’re meeting the needs of their consumers. Implementing new tech may be a challenge initially, but finding the right payment platform can provide opportunities to companies willing to take the leap.

By providing customers myriad payment options, businesses can concentrate on their core business and daily operations and less on making sure they are keeping consumers satisfied — and, for that matter, actually making sales – during the checkout process.

With this in mind, several companies have recently developed and launched new technology or software to meet the constantly evolving needs of the customer.

Highlights from around the Developer world…

The October edition of the PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker news section features notable news from around the developer ecosystem, including RS2 Software, Sterling Payment Technologies and UAE Exchange, to name a few companies, that launched payments integrations and solutions aimed at meeting the needs of today’s tech-savvy consumers.

For an example of how companies are trying to introduce technology to better serve their customers, payments processor RS2 Software and Alpha Payments looked to make a splash outside of the U.S. by partnering to provide financial institutions in Thailand with services offered via their integration. By collaborating, the banks can now offer customers fraud prevention and loyalty programs with an eye toward reducing costs and providing a certain level of customization.

Meanwhile, Sterling Payment Technologies made a move of its own by joining forces with Focus POS Systems to design integrated EMV solutions targeted for the hospitality industry. Restaurants, for example, can use Datacap NETePay and Ingenico Group’s connected terminals and provide features ranging from gratuity processing to mobile wallet capabilities.

Aside from EMV solutions, UAE Exchange teamed up with digital identity company Jumio to provide bolstered digital protection for processing money transfers. UAE’s global remittance platform enables consumers to make a new account quickly by scanning a government-provided ID card. Jumio’s Netverify solution is aimed at helping with digital verification and facial recognition using Jumio’s online portals.

In addition to the latest developer news, this month’s Developer Tracker features a PYMNTS interview with Kate Hampton, vice president of ResidentPay at Entrata, about the payments-related hurdles property management companies are facing at a time when checks are falling out of favor for rent payers.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Developing a solution that meets the needs of millennial renters, more than anything, involves understanding the human element of rental payment processing — a challenge, Hampton said, that traditional property management software providers continue to face. As a result, solutions have been developed that have not solved actual user needs.

So, when Entrata set out to develop its software, it took measures to incorporate residents’ insights and feedback from property management companies. Based on its research, the company also developed its ResidentPortal app, which released in Dec. 2015.

The company’s iOS and Android apps feature fingerprint authentication, enable users to make a payment using voice commands and allow users to check their balance and submit a maintenance request. The apps also enable users to store new payment methods with their mobile camera.

“If you say the words ‘pay my rent’ without even having the app open, the operating system automatically deep links to the system and the payments screen,” Hampton said. “We auto-populate everything we know … what the balance is, what was the last payment method used, so the user literally pays the rent with a single tap.”

To keep up with the ever-changing market needs, the company has built its mobile offerings on a scalable architecture that allows it to accommodate new offerings, Hampton said.

The latest Developer Tracker features the latest news and analysis, as well as 146 providers, including seven additions to the directory.

To download the October edition of the PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker, click the button below…

About The Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker, powered by Vantiv, provides the payments ecosystem with a view into how software developers are using new technologies to create innovative business opportunities and enable merchants to optimize the ways in which they engage with shoppers today. The developer community within the tracker is separated into three categories: Shopping and Payments, Operations and Marketing.

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