Report: Banks should focus on m-commerce for now
28 April, 2010
category: Contactless, NFC
Independent technology analyst Ovum has released a report urging banks to switch their focus from contactless payment to m-commerce in the short-term, according to voxy.co.nz.
Ovum says we are on the cusp of a mobile payments boom – a “golden opportunity” financial institutions cannot afford to pass up.
Alex Kwiatkowski, principal analyst at Ovum and report co-author, explains, “In the past, banks were studiously indifferent to m-commerce, preferring to let others – most notably those within the mobile operator community – attempt to stimulate growth. This passivity must change.”
Report co-author Kieran Hines, adds, “While m-commerce has witnessed many false starts in the past, the view from the retail community that the economics of contactless do not stack up for them at present has created an industry standoff. This means m-commerce has the chance to come to the fore again.”
In the report, Ovum points out that conditions are right for m-commerce to take off, i.e. both retailers and mobile operators want to use the technology to boost revenues.
Furthermore, Ovum argues that m-commerce can act as a “gateway” to other contactless payment methods that “cannot be tapped in the short term.”
Read more here.