246 Reading: Mobile Commerce and Mobile Payment Systems
246 Reading: Mobile Commerce and Mobile Payment Systems
Mobile Commerce
The phrase mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, to mean “the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer’s hand, anywhere, via wireless technology.” Many choose to think of Mobile Commerce as meaning “a retail outlet in your customer’s pocket.”
Mobile commerce is worth US$230 billion, with Asia representing almost half of the market, and has been forecast to reach US$700 billion in 2017. According to BI Intelligence in January 2013, 29% of mobile users have now made a purchase with their phones. Walmart estimated that 40% of all visits to their internet shopping site in December 2012 was from a mobile device. Bank of America predicts $67.1 billion in purchases will be made from mobile devices by European and U.S. shoppers in 2015. Mobile retailers in UK alone are expected to increase revenues up to 31% in FY 2013–14.
Mobile Payment
Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer, and mobile wallet generally refer to payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods. Although the concept of using non-coin-based currency systems has a long history, it is only recently that the technology to support such systems has become widely available.
Mobile payment is being adopted all over the world in different ways. In 2008, the combined market for all types of mobile payments was projected to reach more than $600B globally by 2013, which would be double the figure as of February, 2011. The mobile payment market for goods and services, excluding contactless Near Field Communication or NFC transactions and money transfers, is expected to exceed $300B globally by 2013.
In developing countries mobile payment solutions have been deployed as a means of extending financial services to the community known as the “unbanked” or “underbanked,” which is estimated to be as much as 50% of the world’s adult population, according to Financial Access’s 2009 Report “Half the World is Unbanked.”
Near Field Communications (NFC)
Have you ever wondered what makes tap-and-go services like Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Amiibo work? As much as it seems like pure magic, it isn’t. So what is it exactly? Simply put, it’s a method of wireless data transfer that detects and then enables technology in close proximity to communicate without the need for an Internet connection. It’s easy, fast, and works automagically.
No pairing code is necessary to link up and because it uses chips that run on very low amounts of power (or passively, using even less), it’s much more power-efficient than other wireless communication types. At its core, NFC works to identify us by our enabled cards and devices (and b