Start-up Unveils ‘Single-Click Checkout’ Mobile App

Billing Revolution, a mobile payment start-up, has unveiled a new mobile credit card checkout service for Android at the Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco. The new “Single-Click Checkout” app has been endorsed by Citibank.

The Single-Click Checkout app will enable users to complete credit card purchases from their mobile phones from any web- or mobile-based merchant. When it launches for consumers on November 29, the new service will be the first to provide in-app checkout capabilities, according to the company. That means that users can make a payment through Billing Revolution’s app for a purchase made on another app.

Somewhat surprisingly, users are not required to enter a user name and password, before completing a payment through the app. Billing Revolution believes that the card issuer’s fraud prevention system to provide sufficient protection. Even more surprisingly, Citi has nevertheless sponsored the app, apparently convinced that it is secure enough.

We believe, however, that this is a weak spot in the Single-Click Checkout process and expect that Billing Revolution will eventually introduce password protection for its users. It is just too easy for an unauthorized user to complete a purchase with a stolen phone. Issuers authorize payments based on the information submitted with each transaction. As this information will be pre-stored into the application, there will be no reason for an issuer to decline a transaction. Moreover, as Billing Revolution will find out, an issuer authorization does not protect the merchant against liability for fraud and chargebacks.

The Single-Click Checkout process is fairly simple. When completing a purchase at a participating merchant, the user clicks on the Single-Click “Buy” button and pop-over window appears on top of the merchant’s page. The pop-over window presents the user with the option of selecting the card he or she wants to use (see video). Similarly to PayPal, Billing Revolution allows users to store multiple cards into their accounts and will store payment history.

Billing Revolution is not exactly straightforward about its pricing and this is an issue that will also need to be corrected. Their website does not list the fees the company will be charging for its service. A press release only goes as far as to state that Single-Click Checkout will provide “a low-cost, widely accepted, standardized way of processing transactions.” From other sources we learn that the company will be charging no monthly fees and then $0.05 for processing transactions under $5 and $0.10 for transactions over $5. This information will have to be prominently displayed on Billing Revolution’s website.

Has anyone used the app? If so, please share your experience in the comments below.

Image credit: Singleclickcheckout.com.