Tuesday, 29 January 2008

Cellphone Banking First Step toward Mobile Wallets in the US

The US seems to be moving closer to a goal of using mobile handsets to accomplish financial transactions and make purchases as several competing market players align on both technology and objectives.

A recent study, done by high-tech market research firm In-Stat, "Mobile Payments Making Progress in North America", found that although 2008 will not be "the year of mobile payments" in the US, some progress is likely.

"There is evidence that the US market may overcome a crucial issue_technology incompatibility_and make progress during 2008 toward contactless payments using cellphones," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst.

"Companies in several different sectors all ultimately want to deploy near field communications (NFC), the key enabling technology, into handsets as well as in merchant payment terminals." There is also general agreement that the current generation of mobile banking services is an important first step toward accomplishing that goal.

The study also revealed that:

- Depending on several technology, commercial, and marketing factors, between 8 million and 30 million customers in North America will be using NFC-based contactless payments by 2012.

- Over 34 million cell phones could be used for other financial applications like online banking by 2012.

- Most of the companies involved in bringing mobile finance to the North American market have similar goals and understanding of the current market, which is critical to the development of the market.