Google share price up, in talks to acquire Softcard

Google Inc is in talks to purchase troubled mobile-payments company Softcard as the technology giants seeks ways to compete with Apple Pay.

According to people familiar with the matter, the search company may pay up to $100 million in order to acquire the payment service. Jointly owned by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, the company was previously known as Isis and was founded in 2010.

Softcard, which recently reduced its worker count by around 60 employees, declined to comment. The New York-based company utilizes the “near field communication” technology, same as Apple Pay, to provide digital wallets to its consumers.

According to Softcard there are more than 200 000 companies, including Subway and McDonalds, in the US who accept payments settled via its application, which is supported by Googles Android and Microsofts Windows Phone but not Apples iOS. The companys application is compatible with American Express, Chase and Wells Fargo credit cards among others.

Google may be looking to reinforce its mobile Wallet, which was released around four years ago, but struggled to attract attention from retailers and consumers.

Despite digital wallets not being very popular, they are very convenient for retailers and consumers and could provide better security. They are also easy to use, allowing consumers to settle transactions within only few seconds, while also providing the opportunity for retailers to improve their loyalty programs and special offerings.

However, the mobile wallets have not yet spread, even with Apple Pay, but the potential for growth is enormous with the global business-to-consumer e-commerce market projected to reach $1.5 trillion in 2014, according to researcher eMarketer.

Apple has pulled ahead in the segment, despite launching its service in October 2014, Apple Pay has proven quite successful among consumers and big retailers in comparison to similar services.

“With Apple Pay picking up in popularity and PayPal going solo later this year every major tech company is rethinking their mobile payments strategy,” said a banker not related to the transaction, cited by the Financial Times. “We are likely to see a lot of M&A activity in this space.”

Google declined to comment on the possible acquisition.

Google Inc gained 1.28% on Friday and closed at $510.46, marking a one-year decrease of 11.35%. The company is valued at $345.47 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 44 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Google Inc have a median target of $636.00, with a high estimate of $750.00 and a low estimate of $530.00. The median estimate represents a 24.59% increase from the last close price.