Report: Partneships are key to driving NFC adoption
02 August, 2012
category: NFC
Frost & Sullivan has released a new report urging the mobile commerce industry to pursue new market strategies to accelerate the consumer adoption of NFC technology.
According the the report, “Mobile Financial Services—A Technology and Market Analysis,” NFC has not created the revenue-generating opportunities the telecom industry expected. However, recently established partnerships between telecom operators and major financial institutions could point the way to a more viable future.
“The industry seems to be reaching a tipping point,” said Jean-Noel Georges, Global Program Director for ICT in Financial Services at Frost & Sullivan. “A number of factors like more NFC-ready mobile devices and new market participants are favoring the development of the European m-payments market — especially NFC-based payments. Market players are forging cooperation, where a telecom-financial services partnership is one of the most compelling strategies.”
F&S highlights Deutsche Telekom (DT) and MasterCard’s recent partnership as an example of the kind of cooperation essential to making mobile payments a reality. The partnership, which aims to bring m-payments to DT’s 93 million European customers, will begin with the launch of a mobile wallet service in Poland during the second half of this year, followed by the launch of another mobile wallet in Germany during the first half of 2013.
“This type of partnership is cost-effective: the partners involved avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’ by using the capabilities and know-how of their counterparts, which may result in a compelling offering,” commented Georges. “More importantly, telecom-financial services partnerships deliver a positive signal to the market: different industries are finally finding a way to promote a payment solution. This market is steadily moving towards maturity through partnerships and merger and acquisition activity.”
According to the report, these partnerships complement the many component vendors, mobile device manufacturers, and mobile operators who are planning to introducing more NFC-enabled mobile devices to the market. Moreover, the m-payments sector is becoming more dynamic with the entrance of software providers, payment platform providers, and over-the-top companies such as Google and PayPal.