MakeCents Rolls Out New Mobile Payments Partnership
As mobile payments gain ground in the field, and we see more places take on the option, we improve the chances of more people putting them to use. Recently, the folks out at MakeCents added their mobile wallet program to Seabra Foods’ retail locations, which may not seem like much, but every bit counts.
Seabra Foods, according to reports, has 14 retail locations. That’s not a whole lot by itself, but has a surprising range all the same. With locations in Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, this grocery chain isn’t big, but it’s clearly forward-thinking.
Initial testing ran for three months, with particular emphasis on improving the testnet. The MakeCents system incorporates cash transactions as part of the operation, including allowing customers to essentially receive their change in a phone transaction. Additionally, since the system depends on blockchain technology, it can carry out its transactions with lower fees and better security.
This is just the start, though; MakeCents will be starting up a Series A funding round soon, and with this test successfully under its belt, that will be a little more ammunition for building a successful funding round. MakeCents recently concluded one funding round that brought in $2.5 million for the company. One success improves the chances of another; nothing succeeds quite like success.
Moreover, it’s also the groundwork for future developments, including loyalty platforms and supply chain operations. In fact, the company expects to ultimately create a complete ecosystem of tools, connecting manufacturers with retailers and just about every step in between.
Some here might think that MakeCents is just another mobile payments operation in a vast field of same, and worse, one that doesn’t have much of a market base behind it to even try to take on the big names like the Pays. But its use of at least a kind of cash, and blockchain technology, suggests that it could be unique enough to be a comer. Its plans are certainly ambitious enough, and will go well beyond the simple business-to-consumer (B2C) interface that the Pays bring out.
Yet at the same time, ambition alone isn’t likely to carry the day for MakeCents. It’s going to need plenty more successes like Seabra Foods, and much larger successes as well.