Mobile Payment Magazine

U Mobile Offers Blackberry Solution in Malaysia

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U Mobile and Research In Motion (RIM) have launched a Blackberry solution for U Mobile customers in Malaysia, that brings together smartphones, software and services to allow wireless access to email and messaging, social networking, phone, organizer, web, multimedia and other mobile business and lifestyle applications.

U Mobile will initially offer the BlackBerry  Bold 9780 smartphone and the BlackBerry  Curve 3G smartphone to customers in Malaysia.

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 is a compact smartphone that offers a compelling blend of features, performance and design. Featuring the new BlackBerry 6 operating system, the BlackBerry Bold 9780 supports 3G networks around the world, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging. The 5 MP camera comes with a full complement of high-end features including continuous auto focus, scene modes, image stabilization, flash and video recording. The BlackBerry Bold 9780 also includes 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB of storage.

The BlackBerry Curve 3G smartphone features a comfortable full-QWERTY keyboard for fast, accurate typing, optical trackpad for fluid navigation, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi and dedicated media keys that allow music lovers to easily play their tunes while on the go. The BlackBerry Curve 3G also features a camera that can record video and a microSD/SDHC slot that supports up to 32 GB memory cards for media storage. Support for 3G networks makes browsing faster, streaming music smoother, and gives users the ability to talk on the phone while they browse the web or instant message with BBM (BlackBerry Messenger).

Chief Executive Officer of U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Dr Kaizad Heerjee said: “We are very pleased to have a long-term partnership with RIM to introduce the BlackBerry solution to our customers in Malaysia. BlackBerry smartphones will allow our customers to easily stay in touch with the people and information that’s important to them and access information quickly and efficiently no matter where they are through our enhanced 3G high speed network”. He added: “We also look forward to continuously unveiling new and exciting products which are focused at delivering simple, flexible and affordable plans to the market.”

Source: U Mobile

MasterCard and Telefónica Announce Mobile Banking Initiative for Latin America

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MasterCard and Telefónica have announced a joint venture in the development of mobile financial solutions in twelve Latin American countries where Telefónica is present with the Movistar brand.

What is unique about this initiative is that it partners a payments company and a telecommunications company partner to create a new entity focused on integrating mobile phones and a  financial solutions that will work with existing electronic payment systems. [Read more…]

Japan’s Softbank Mobile Selects Gemalto for Mobile Contactless Payment Trial

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GemaltoGemalto, a leading digital security company, has been selected by Softbank Mobile for the latest mobile contactless payment trial in Japan. Softbank Mobile is a leading mobile operator in Japan with 21 million subscribers. The program is the first in Asia to enable secure mobile Near Field Communication (NFC) transactions from a choice of different credit card accounts. The pilot is expected to roll out in the first quarter of 2011.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless technology that enables the communication between devices over a distance of less than 10 cm. The key benefits of NFC are compatibility with the existing contactless infrastructure and simplicity, as NFC is characterized by a natural and intuitive “just touch” movement.

“Gemalto’s end-to-end solution brings the simplicity and convenience of NFC, while ensuring interoperability across business partners in Japan and beyond.”

Softbank Mobile customers will be able to use their mobile phones for contactless payments in convenience stores, fast-food restaurants and theaters. The program also offers users the option to perform NFC transactions from two credit card issuers – Orient Corporation, the largest service provider of MasterCard PayPass in Japan, and Credit Saison, another Japanese leading financial institution. This is made possible by embedding multiple MasterCard PayPass applications in the secure UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card). UICC is the smart card used to authenticate the subscriber for GSM and UMTS/3G networks. Now in the pipeline for LTE, the UICC brings a host of fundamental features, tried and tested within GSM and now perfected for LTE.

For this program, Gemalto will provide a turnkey NFC solution comprised of its Allynis Trusted Services Management operated services, UICC cards and N-Flex devices. Gemalto’s trusted services allow for the secure deployment and management of contactless mobile payment. The N-Flex enables users to turn a conventional handset into an NFC-enabled mobile phone, without any change to the device.

“Gemalto’s end-to-end solution brings the simplicity and convenience of NFC, while ensuring interoperability across business partners in Japan and beyond,” commented Mr. Naoki Kinoshita, General Manager, SOFTBANK MOBILE. “Gemalto’s expertise in secure operated services will enable SOFTBANK MOBILE to focus on providing a broader range of value added services to our customers.”

“Japan is the most progressive country in the world when it comes to using the mobile phone for contactless services and Gemalto is delighted to support Softbank Mobile in this new project,” added Tan Teck-Lee, President, Gemalto Asia. “The advent of NFC in Japan will enable to massively deploy mobile contactless services in payments and other domains like transit, loyalty programs or couponing.”

Source: Business Wire

Usablenet Integrates With PayPal’s Mobile Express Checkout for Mobile Website Payments

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Usablenet has announced integration with PayPal’s mobile payments product, Mobile Express Checkout, to enhance payment offerings on clients’ mobile websites. Usablenet can now extend PayPal’s Mobile Express Checkout to mobile commerce websites and other supported solutions, such as mobile applications, tablets, Facebook & other social media, and in-store kiosks. Usablenet works with Fortune 500 companies to extend their websites to any customer, via Mobile, Facebook shops, Apps, Kiosks and Assistive versions.

With more than 90 million active users worldwide, PayPal’s total payment volume represents 16.5% of U.S. e-commerce and 15% of global e-commerce. In Q3 2010, PayPal reported a 26% increase in online payment volume growth compared with Q3 2009, a portion of which was attributed to mobile transactions. Over the 2010 holiday shopping season (from November 15 – December 15, 2010) PayPal experienced a 300% increase in mobile payments volume and closed out 2010 with $750 million in mobile payment volume; this is 50% more than the $500 million PayPal projected earlier in the year.

Founded in 2000, Usablenet has created a technology platform that extends all features, functionality, and content contained on clients’ websites (or other available sources) to their customers wherever they are — including mobile phones, mobile applications, tablets, Facebook and other social media, and in-store kiosks. Usablenet is the mobile partner for nearly 200 Fortune 1000 companies including Amtrak, American Airlines, ASOS.com, Estée Lauder, FedEx, Hilton, JCPenney, JetBlue, and Marks & Spencer, among others.

“Given our significantly shared client base with PayPal, we are thrilled to be able to extend PayPal to mobile and to our other solutions,” said Usablenet President Nick Taylor. “Imagine the power of extending PayPal not only to consumers on mobile phones, but also to those shopping at an in-store kiosk powered by Usablenet or on Facebook where we provide the shopping experience.”

“Usablenet empowers top e-commerce merchants throughout the world,” said Bill Zielke, PayPal’s Senior Director of Merchant Services. “By integrating PayPal’s Mobile Express Checkout with Usablenet’s offerings, businesses can enable consumers to speed through checkout securely using their mobile phones.”

Source: MarketWire

Megapay and MJV Launch Brazil Mobile Payment Service

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Megapay, a division of Hong Kong based cloud computing giant Megaworld, in partership with MJV, a Brazilian company that combines technology services and mobile solutions, have launched a mobile payment services in the Brazilian market.

Using Megapay’s and MJV’s technologies, Megaworld’s Brazilian customers are now able to make payments for any Megaworld service via mobile phone by submitting their phone number to Megapay’s payment platform. The customers are securely authenticated through a web PIN sent to their mobile phone via SMS, allowing them to immediately enjoy unlimited access to Megaworld premium services. Megapay’s service allows Megaworld customers to use their mobile phones as wallets and brings Megaworlds services to more than 90% of the Brazilian population.

Megaworld’s growth in Brazil and the Latin American region has been phenomenal. Since 2005, Megaworld has experienced a 100% year on year growth in registered subscribers. Megaworld’s total client base in Brazil is almost 5 million registered subscribers with 13 million active in Latin America. Popular services include Megaupload, a leading player in cloud storage, as well as Megavideo, a video streaming site. Recent additions to the Megaworld portfolio include Megabox, a cloud-based music hosting and streaming service; Megapix, an online marketplace for stock photography and hosting of pictures; Megalive, an innovative broadcasting service that anyone can use.

Source: PRWeb

BOKU Partners with UK’s Largest Online Classified Ads Company, Gumtree

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BOKU Inc, a global leader in mobile payments, today announced that a partnership with Gumtree.com, offering users a convenient way to pay for classifieds listings via their mobile phone number.

Gumtree users can now pay for listings and other features on the website by entering their mobile number and charging directly to their mobile phone bill. At checkout, Gumtree and other participating eBay Classifieds group properties display multiple payment options including credit cards and BOKU payments.

Users choosing to pay by mobile simply enter their mobile phone number to checkout. They receive a text to confirm the payment, and the charge appears on their mobile phone bill or is deducted from their pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐go credit. An integrated payment connection between Gumtree and BOKU provides a value-­‐added service to the British online consumers and merchants, including a secure payment mechanism that is both convenient and easy to use. Gumtree originated in the UK, and now offers online classifieds postings for 60 different cities spread across 6 different countries: UK, Ireland, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Gumtree users in the UK alone post more than 250,000 new ads every week, and 2.3 million ads are live on the site at any given time.

Gumtree.com users spend an average of 72 minutes on the website each month.

“Gumtree is a leader in Europe’s online classifieds market, one of the largest in the world and part of the global eBay Classifieds Group,” said James Patmore, Managing Director, EMEA for BOKU. “This collaboration is an opportunity to connect with customers who prefer to pay with their mobile phone and is another significant step to BOKU opening up the European market. This collaboration will undoubtedly provide our new British customers with added value and options.” “BOKU mobile payments offer a simple and secure checkout option for Gumtree users,” said Patricia Bennett, head of product for Gumtree. “We’ve always focused on creating a great user experience, and the technology BOKU offers simplifies the payment process, adding value to the overall seller experience.”

BOKU markets their mobile payment service to online merchants and publishers on a global scale. The BOKU service enables merchants and publishers to drive incremental revenue by offering carrier billing as a payment option to their customers. BOKU is connected to over 220 mobile operators in more than 65 countries, and provides access to more than 2 billion potential customers who can pay by mobile. The process for making a payment is simple and convenient -­‐ users simply click Paymo by BOKU to purchase and then 1. Enter their mobile number, 2. Receive a text message to confirm, and 3. Reply with the letter “y.”

eBay Acquires Its Mobile App Developer, Critical Path

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As another sign of the continuing growth of the mobile payment landscape and the consolidation of related companies, eBay announced today that it has acquired the company that develops its mobile applications software.

Critical Path Software is a mobile application developer that has worked with eBay for more than two years to help deliver popular mobile apps such as the eBay for iPhone app, and StubHub, eBay Classifieds and Shopping.com iPhone applications. The company, established in 1991 and based in Portland, Oregon, was one of the first developers to create mobile apps for the iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7 platforms.

According to eBay, the acquisition will allow the company to accelerate its efforts to improve the mobile experience for its customers. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We’re very serious about innovating in mobile commerce, and this acquisition underscores our commitment to bringing the very best and brightest in the field to eBay,” said Mark Carges, chief technology officer and senior vice president, global products, eBay Marketplaces. “Integrating the Critical Path Software team into eBay will be a big win for mobile shoppers around the world; combined with the talent on our team today, we can make shopping and selling anywhere, anytime, for almost anything, even better.”

With more than 200 million listings available globally at any given time on eBay, shoppers have access to a wide selection of merchandise right from their mobile phones.

eBay Mobile collaborated with Critical Path Software most recently on eBay Inc.’s most popular mobile app, the iPhone 2.0 core eBay app, which has been downloaded by more than 14 million times since its launch in 2008. Critical Path Software also was a key contributor in developing mobile apps enabling users to buy tickets on-the-go on StubHub; search local listings on eBay Classifieds; and access more than 7,000 global merchants on Shopping.com.

Source: Business Wire

Google Moves Even Stronger Into Mobile Marketing and Payments with Acquisition of Zetawire

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Back in November, Google’s Eric Schmidt teased the crowd at Web 2.0 about Google’s plans for NFC mobile payments using the Android OS, and introduced the Samsung Nexus S running Gingerbread and an NFC chip by NXP. It turns out that as early as August, according to the 451 Group, a technology industry Analyst company, Google  also had purchased Canadian stealth startup Zetawire, which likely has a product built around a payment, identity management and advertising system, based on Zetawire’s open patent application.

Google is moving quickly into the mobile payment arena, but with Google, it’s a lot more than just payments. The company has also been active around location-based and mobile marketing and advertising with the launch of the more robust Google Places and its new Hotspot service. Now, with Near Field Communication (NFC) coming closer to reality (led by Google’s Android OS Nexus S smartphone), the company is increasingly well-positioned to capitalize on the coming boom in mobile payments:

  • Android smartphones (Nexus S), with built-in Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities
  • Google Places and Hotspot, a fast-growing directory of businesses, along with a Marketing/Advertising platform (remember, Google controls online search results also, which often display Google Places company listings)
  • Mobile marketing
  • Google Checkout

Now covering the spectrum of actions from the search, to the ad or merchant listing, to the click, to the promotion coupon to the payment, Google has a lot of touch-points to profit from, and to track ROI.

While some of Google’s previous efforts to branch out its offering of services have withered (Social Networking, for example), the company caught a huge break while Apple’s iPhone was stuck at ATT by launching the very successful Android OS for a generation of smartphones running on alternate networks such as Verizon’s.  By August of this year, Nielsen reported that new smartphone subscribers choosing Android phones were at 27 percent, surpassing Apple iPhone’s 23% share.

References: TechCrunch; Mashable

Wmode and StreamWIDE Form Partnership to Provide Carriers with Managed Services

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Wmode, a provider of managed services such as Smart Portal, App Store, Media Store, and Mobile Payment solutions under the ClearMode brand has licensed StreamWIDE’s next generation technology for telecom value-added-services. With this agreement, Wmode and StreamWIDE will provide carriers with a complete set of managed services including ring back tones, voice messaging, visual voicemail, and call completion services.

The focus of the agreement is on StreamWIDE’s Ringback tones (RBT) solution, a personalized music service gaining global adoption in which Wmode excels as a managed service provider and has developed market leading expertise, and where StreamWIDE provides a state-of-the-art platform based on standard SIP architecture. Through this partnership the StreamWIDE portfolio of applications becomes immediately available to Wmode and their customers, minimizing time to market and providing carriers with a solid ROI.

Wmode, a privately held company based in North America, has been providing technology solutions for mobile operators, media companies and consumer brands for the past ten years. StreamWIDE, a public company based in Europe with offices in Paris, New Jersey and China provides value-added services for mobile and fixed-line telecommunication operators.

Speaking about this new partnership, Wmode CEO, Emanuel Bertolin commented, “Leveraging our license agreement with StreamWIDE, we will be announcing our first North American customer in the coming weeks under the new partnership. We are excited about the opportunities this agreement presents in North America and globally.”

Wmode entered into this licensing agreement with StreamWIDE as it provided the organization with the right approach and flexible technology. Both of these factors allow Wmode to offer its mobile operator customers a seamless and complete RBT solution.

Speaking about the agreement Pascal Beglin, CEO for StreamWIDE said, “We recognized Wmode’s excellence in customer attention and their strong operational culture for running successful managed services for mobile operators, especially their achievements with RBT with Cricket in the US. Together with our carrier-grade technology, our advanced features and our track-record on the telecom market, we believe we can win a large market share for our solutions moving forward with this hosted, managed service option.”

Source: Marketwire