2. Operator-Provided Mobile Wallets
Speaking of operators, lets make this clear: they want to be involved. Not only that, but they want to be the mobile wallet providers. To that end, they’ve teamed up to make sure that happens.
During February’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, some of the world’s largest mobile operators announced their intentions to launch commercial NFC services. In total, 16 operators – América Móvil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SK Telecom, SoftBank Mobile, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor and Vodafone – declared their support for the technology. For these operators, NFC isn’t just about the mobile wallet. It can also deliver services like mobile ticketing, mobile couponing, information exchange and the ability to control access to things like cars, homes, offices, hotels and more.
In the mobile operators’ case, the deployment of NFC would involve using the SIM card in the phones as the secure element that provides the necessary authentication, security and portability.
As NFC World notes, Apple’s and Google’s initiatives will be based on embedded secure elements within the phones themselves – such as the technology found today in Google’s latest flagship phone, the Nexus S – not the SIM card. To some industry watchers, the teaming up occurring now among mobile operators on the matter of NFC is a clear confirmation that the next iPhone (the iPhone 5), will almost certainly have NFC built in.
In addition to the GSMA announcement, three of the four major mobile operators in the U.S. (Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T) have joined forces to launch Isis, a mobile payments venture that will use Discover Financial Services’ network to process payments. Barclaycard U.S. will be the first to issue customers Isis accounts. This mobile wallet solution will handle both credit, debit and prepaid transactions. It’s expected that Barclaycard will be the first of many card issuers to come on board with the venture.
More on Isis: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Join Forces in New Mobile Payments Venture Called “Isis”, November 2010
Isis claims that it already has recruited some merchants to use its service, but will not name names just yet. The group knows that getting merchants to adopt the technology is critical. Merchants don’t want an AT&T-only solution, Jim Stapleton, head of sales and account management at Isis and a veteran of AT&T Inc., told the website Digital Transactions in February 2011.
Operators know that to force consumer adoption of a new technology, it must be integrated into their daily lives on a regular basis. That’s why Isis is first talking to merchants at coffee shops, grocery stores, quick-service restaurants, parking lots and garages and most importantly, transit systems (bus, train, subway, etc.). Getting these types of merchants on board with the initiative is critical for its success.
Meanwhile, on the consumer side, Isis wants to offer more than just payments. It also wants to also offer electronic coupons, loyalty programs and ticketing, reports Digital Transactions, referencing a statement made by Sarab Sokhey, a Verizon Wireless non-payment NFC executive and advisor to Isis.
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.