Tag: m-payments

Mobile payments service from Ericsson to be adopted by MTN Rwanda

| November 27, 2013

The digital wallet service will now be used by the wireless network to enhance its financial offerings.

MTN Rwanda has now announced that it intends to deploy mobile payments technologies and services from Ericsson in order to provide its customers with an expanded overall smartphone based commerce solution in that African nation.

This partnership was announced in a press release and will include a number of Ericsson’s m-solutions.

MTN Rwanda will be using a number of Ericsson’s mobile payments services in order to give smartphone users the opportunity to send and receive funds regardless of whether or not they have traditional forms of banking services. Much of the country is considered to be unbanked, which provides a tremendous opportunity for offering services that can be used through smartphones, which have achieved a high penetration rate in that country.

The mobile payments solution should allow MTN Rwanda to offer differentiated smartphone wallet services.

Mobile Payments - RwandaThese mobile payments services will be available to its current and new customers. According to the head of m-commerce at Ericsson, Bjorn Engstrom, “Ericsson Converged Wallet helps MTN Rwanda offer the convenience of m-wallet financial services across its entire subscriber base.”

Expanding on that subject, Ebenezer Asante, the chief executive officer of MTN Rwanda explained that “With the new Ericsson Converged Wallet platform, we are looking forward to bringing more innovation into the Rwandan market. We want to continue leading the market in terms of breadth and quality of services. We expect to see a positive impact for both our partner agents and our customers.”

Beyond that mobile payments announcement, it was also revealed that Ericsson has also opened up a new strategic partnership with the MTN group, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), for the introduction of a converged wallet service throughout the entire reach of the operator. There are currently over thirteen million mobile money subscribers in the MTN group’s reach across 14 countries in Africa. Enhancing that service will be able to create a direct impact on the customer experience and on the interest that is generated in using it on a regular basis.

Mobile payments Pingit app from Barclays simplified

| November 21, 2013

The U.K. bank has announced the introduction of a considerable update to make the process easier.

Barclays has just announced the latest functionality in its Pingit app, as it is now providing large businesses the opportunity to complete mobile payments through the use of only a cell phone number.

This completely removes the requirement for having to submit any sensitive banking data.

Now, the app makes it possible for retailers, insurance companies, utilities, and other larger organizations to be able to send mobile payments without having to obtain or store the details of debit or credit cards. This is because the File Gateway from Barclays gives them the ability to send funds direction into the individual Pingit accounts. Those are available to both Barclays customers and those who are not.

This new mobile payments opportunity is meant to help to bring convenience, speed, and security.

Mobile Payments - BarclaysThe Barclays head of U.K. corporate payments, Mike Walters, explained that “Consumers today want quick and convenient ways to receive value.” He went on to add that by using mobile payments, they have a solution that is both rapid and secure for accomplishing that goal, without ever having to share their account numbers with anyone else, including the company from whom they are making the purchase.

Walters also went on to state that when it comes to businesses, there is a rising importance which must be taken into consideration regarding the use of mobile payments as a more mainstream part of their business strategies as a whole. The reason is that it provides them with a long list of different potential benefits, including the reduction of the costs associated with the use of checks, as well as the enhancement of the customer experience.

Consumers are using their devices for a growing number of their daily activities and mobile payments can fit into these tasks quite smoothly. Though the option has been slow to take off in many of the western markets, many experts feel that it will not be long before the use of smartphones as a replacement for plastic cards begins to take off at an explosive rate.