Tag: mobile commerce partnerships

The publishing company has now withdrawn from an ebook partnership with the tech giant.

An agreement has recently been reached between Penguin, the book publisher, and the European Commission, which brought an antitrust probe against the company to completion and applied a number of mobile commerce regulations.

The result was that Penguin would not be able to enter into certain specific types of partnerships.

Primarily the legislative arm of the E.U. gave its approval to the conditions that state that Penguin would not be able to enter into any agreements that would give it the power to establish the prices on the ebook titles being sold, instead of a retailer. One of the results of this new regulation is that a mobile commerce deal between the publisher and Apple was forced to disintegrate.

The mobile commerce “most favored nation” agreement between Apple and Penguin has had to end.

Within that mobile commerce plan, Apple allowed publishers to decide on the pricing that would be used for the sale of ebooks on its market, provided that they did not sell the same titles through another retailer for a lower price.

Previously, Apple and major book publishing companies had come to an “agency model” agreement for establishing the pricing for the electronic titles being sold over its marketplaces. That was a step away from the traditional “wholesale model” that is used by the majority of online and mobile commerce sellers, such as Amazon, where retailers were given the opportunity to resell ebooks for whatever price they wanted, including at or below cost.

Therefore, it did not come as much of a surprise that this strategy from Apple for ebook selling would subject it to considerable pressure and scrutiny in the European Union as well as in the United States.

Apple had to defend itself in a massive mobile commerce antitrust lawsuit from the United States Department of Justice. It lost that case earlier this year. The American judge determined that Apple was conspiring with book publishers to increase ebook prices. Though the wireless device manufacturer did appeal the American court’s decision, should the current ruling hold, the company may be required to pay damages worth almost $500 million.

PayLeap and Spindle team to boost mobile commerce services

PayLeap, a company specializing in payment processing solutions, has announced its partnership with Spindle, a leading mobile commerce provider. The two companies have signed a strategic agreement that is designed to combine their solutions and technologies for the benefit of the global mobile commerce market. Such partnerships are becoming more popular throughout the mobile commerce sector as smaller companies find it nearly impossible to meet global demand for the services they provide on their own.

Companies to combine technologies and services

The PayLeap platform operates as a payment gateway, collection financial information from consumers and offering payment processing services to businesses. The platform supports in-store payments as well as those made through e-commerce sites. PayLeap also boasts of several security features, such as fraud management and secure checkout, in order to provide more safety for mobile commerce initiatives. Spindle offers businesses a variety of mobile commerce services, couponing, and loyalty programs.

Consumers demand better mobile commerce services

Through this new partnership, Spindle and PayLeap will combine their services and technology to provide consumers and businesses with more robust solutions in their given markets. These solutions may be well-received in industries that have been struggling to adopt mobile commerce per the demands coming from consumers. Those with mobile devices have been itching to participate in mobile commerce in markets in Europe and Asia, but there are still relatively few services that cater to these consumers, creating a promising opportunity for Spindle and PayLeap.

Partnerships could help small businesses compete against large companies

While the partnership will give both companies the ability to reach a wider audience, it will also help them compete against larger companies that have established strong presences in mobile commerce. Google is one such company and its Google Wallet platform has become a popular mobile commerce solution for consumers. Smaller companies may find it difficult to compete with a corporation the size of Google, hence the increasing frequency of partnerships being formed between such companies.