This adds one more option to the limited number of cards that are currently available to use.
The joint venture Isis mobile wallet that was created through AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon has not been entirely popular among consumers, even after its nationwide launch in November, but the payments option is now working to overcome one of its primary barriers to adoption.
The system is now supporting American Express Serve to help to boost its cards.
One of the primary problems that consumers have had with the Isis mobile wallet is that it supported only two cards. Those are the Chase and American Express cards. This means that if a consumer wishes to try the service he or she must have one of those two cards. It won’t support regular debit cards, nor the two credit card giants, Visa and MasterCard, at the moment. This new addition could help to change that.
The latest change to the Isis mobile wallet could mean that more cards will be compatible, if indirectly.
With the support that the payments service will now have for American Express Serve, it will mean that there could be a roundabout way for consumers to be able to choose their favorite cards to pay for their purchases. The reason is that Serve acts as a kind of digital prepaid card that can be prepaid. This means that it can be loaded with funds from credit cards, debit cards, or a bank account. Once the funds have been added, it can be used in any location that already accepts American Express credit cards.
As Serve has already been doing a great deal better than the Isis mobile wallet, overall, particularly among business clients, it looks as though this could give the program a considerable shot in the arm in terms of its appeal to consumers and its compatibility with the types of cards that they already carry. It has also been considered to be quite helpful in terms of expense management, as it functions in the same way as cash instead of credit. It makes it easier for the user to be able to stick to a budget and pay attention to how much he or she is spending.
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.
These 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.
