Mobile phones have increasingly become tools that consumers use for banking, payments, budgeting, and shopping. Given the rapid pace of developments in the area of mobile finance, the Federal Reserve Board began conducting annual surveys of consumers’ use of mobile financial services in 2011. This 78-page report, “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services” (March, 2015) examines trends in the adoption and use of mobile banking, payments, and shopping behavior and how the emergence of mobile financial services affects consumers’ interaction with financial institutions.
Multicard and Netherlands’ Rabobank Deploy Mobile Payment Solution
Multicard, a leading supplier of credential solutions, identity management and system integration services is rolling out its mobile cashless payment solution with Rabobank, one of Netherland’s largest financial services companies.
Rabobank selected Multicard to provide the e-payment stickers and related services that will enable users to make purchases using their current mobile phones, directly from a virtual wallet. Multicard and Rabobank have been working closely to fine tune the solution and now are deploying it to canteens and cafeterias within Rabobank’s national network of offices.
“The vision of having an electronic wallet and simply waiving your phone in front of a terminal to purchase goods and services has become real. Rabobank and Multicard are at the leading edge of this trend, already delivering a mobile payment solution that provides security and convenience and that works with existing mobile phones. Every day, more than 1,500 people are using the application to pay for lunch or make small purchases with their mobile phones,” said Pieter Kooistra, Managing Director of Multicard Netherlands. “This virtual wallet can be accessed and managed over the Internet rather than having to be loaded with value at special banking terminals, and payments can be made using a mobile phone or a contactless token such as a key fob or wristband.”
In addition to providing personalization and fulfillment services for the program, Multicard will provide mobile phone applications to transfer money, check balance and top-up money to the wallet, as well as handle management of all transactions, incorporating Rabobank’s MiniTix payment engine. Intended for small retail transactions, MiniTix can be used by virtually anyone, regardless of the user’s mobile operator or mobile phone brand. Rabobank currently is signing up additional merchants and facilities such as schools, cafés and sport venues to participate in the program, so that participants will be able to use their existing phone stickers to pay for food, beverages, event programs and the like.
Source: Global Newswire