Tech company may break into the mobile commerce space this year
Apple may make a definitive move into the mobile commerce space this year. The prominent technology company has long held a significant position in the mobile space, but not when it comes to commerce. As mobile payments become more common among consumers, Apple is beginning to feel the pressure to accommodate the interests of these consumers and beat back the competition coming from other technology companies that are seeking to establish dominance in the mobile commerce field.
iTunes may become Apple’s payments platform
Apple does have a modest presence when it comes to commerce, achieving this presence through the iTunes platform. The platform allows users to purchase a range of products with their credit cards, but Apple may have plans to expand the capabilities of the platform to include digital wallet services. Alleged meetings between Apple’s various divisions and executives suggest that the company is becoming very serious when it comes to exploring ways to develop its own mobile payments service for its customers.
Apple reportedly meeting with experts in order to better understand mobile commerce
In January of this year, rumors began to circulate concerning Apple’s intentions with mobile commerce. For the past few years, the company’s commerce efforts have largely been restricted to the digital space. Now, however, Apple has been looking into ways to make it possible for consumers to purchase physical goods using an iOS device and, potentially, and iTunes account. Apple executives are reportedly meeting with experts in the mobile commerce industry to further develop a concept for its approach to its mobile commerce efforts.
Company intends to avoid challenges that exist in the mobile commerce space
Apple has been cautious with its plans for mobile payments. Because mobile commerce is still relatively new, there are many challenges in the field that have yet to be overcome. Smaller companies have fallen victim to these challenges and have struggled to reclaim their position in the mobile commerce sector. Apple is keen to present its customers with a payments service that is both secure and efficient to use.
BWild |
February 28, 2014
As smartphone based transactions take off at breakneck speed, everyone is trying to hop aboard.
The speed with which mobile payments services are growing and are becoming accepted have now made it clear to most large banks that if they want to be able to remain relevant into the future, they will need to be able to offer their customers the ability to pay for goods and services through the use of smartphones.
Many telecoms and credit card companies are also hopping on board this massive trend.
Even retailers are starting to come up with their own opportunities to hop onto the mobile payments bandwagon and are coming up with their own unique strategies. As the shift toward smartphones as a platform continues, a growing number of companies from massive international giants to small mobile app development startups are trying to turn themselves into important players in this sector.
As mobile payments adoption becomes more common, the competition for those positions is growing.
In fact, it has already reached the point that solutions providers are trying virtually anything to carve out their share of this market, and to continue clawing to broaden that share. Unfortunately, as this continues to occur at an increasingly rapid rate, it is also causing this particular market to fragment. The technology as a whole is owned by many groups and within each group there is a flood of different players. Every one of them is looking to dominate as opposed to creating a consistent experience overall.
The result has been the development of what David Sear, Weve managing director, called a “mess”. He pointed out that “It is confusing for people and for banks, as well as being costly all round.” He explained that scalability is critical in order to make this market work. While it is currently questionable whether the situation is contributing to bank revenues in any way, it is undoubted that these institutions must hang onto it, regardless, in order to succeed in the future.
This fact makes the future of mobile payments extremely hard to predict. The form of it, at the moment, suggests that it will only continue to become more muddied and complex before it has the ability to improve.
