Mobile operators launch m-commerce drive
A new Mobile Payment Services Association has been launched to drive m-commerce forward for customers, content providers, merchants and banks.
The aim is to create an open, interoperable, commonly-branded solution for payments by mobile phone.
This comprises the following:
A new mobile payment scheme that allows customers to make low-priced purchases through mobile operator-managed accounts;
An easier, more secure and more convenient mobile-enabled way to use existing credit and debit cards.
Orange, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and Vodafone today announce that they have signed an agreement to form a new Mobile Payment Services Association aimed at delivering an open, commonly branded solution for payments via mobile phones, designed to work across all operator networks.
The solution will work across country boundaries and will seek to complement existing industry solutions. Its name and branding will be announced in due course.
For customers, the aim is to provide the opportunity to purchase a wide range of digital and physical goods and services with their mobile phones using an easy, secure solution.
The solution aims to become the industry standard for m-commerce payments.
Merchants and merchant acquirers will benefit from a standard set of interfaces through which they will gain access to a potentially huge international customer base. Software and solution vendors will benefit from published technical interfaces enabling the development of compliant m-payment products and services.
Operators will benefit from a standard way of integrating and efficiently managing their relationships with merchants, merchant acquirers and content providers.
Just as interoperability provided the key to the rapid growth of SMS messaging in Europe, interoperable mobile payments should help make m-commerce a reality.
In addition to the four founding members, 3, debitel, KPN Mobile group, O2 and TMN have expressed interest in joining the Mobile Payment Services Association, and the four founding members are also inviting other operators to participate.
The aim is to make the new initiative available to the largest possible number of mobile phone users.
The Mobile Payment Services Association will be headquartered in London
