Large banks seek to maintain their position in the mobile commerce market

Five of Switzerland’s largest banks are in talks with retailers and SIX Group, a financial infrastructure provider, concerning the development of a new mobile payments service. Credit Suisse, PostFinance, Raiffeisen, UBS, and ZKB have begun open-ended negotiations with retailers Coop, Migros, and telecommunications company Swisscom seeking to band together and develop a  new payment platform that can compete with those coming from Apple, Google, and Samsung. The banks want to ensure that they have a strong position in the mobile commerce space, which is beginning to grow rapidly in Switzerland.

Consumers are becoming more active in mobile shopping, presenting retailers with new opportunities

Notably, UBS, ZKB, SIX Group, and Swisscom all have their own mobile payments services which have been available for some time. These companies believe that the mobile commerce market could be quite lucrative, especially as retailers become more involved in the mobile space. Many consumers are beginning to rely on their smartphones and tablets to shop for and purchase products, and they are beginning to migrate offline, using their devices to make purchases in physical stores.

Retailers may opt to continue using already well established payment services

Whether or not the banks and retailers decide to work together on the development of a new payment service has yet to be seen. Some retailers have shown modest interest, but they may be more inclined to use already well established services that have become consumer favorites. Banks still want to maintain control of the growing mobile commerce space, however, and may opt to develop their own payment services in order to do this.

Banks want to be able to effective compete with tech companies in the payments space

Apple, Google, and Samsung have all developed their own mobile payments services. These services have been made available for some time, with Apple and Samsung only just beginning to move into the European market. Banks have shown support for these services, but they have also been somewhat resistant to their spread, as they want to retain their position in the burgeoning mobile commerce market without losing revenue to these companies.

Though many people plug their mobile devices into their cars, they may be burning more gas than they know.

Many people have shrugged off the need for a portable charger due to the fact that they have an adaptor or a USB port that allows them to simply plug their devices into their vehicles so they can charge them up during their daily commutes and any other trips they need to make.

However, that technique may be more costly and may have a far greater impact on the environment than expected.

It has recently been pointed out in a number of reports that driving while talking on a cell phone isn’t the only harmful thing that these devices can do when they are used in vehicles. Even when the driver isn’t actively using them, if a smartphone is plugged into a car and is charging, instead of using a portable charger, it actually reduces the mileage of the vehicle in a measurable way. How much? According to a retired General Motors Co. engineering exec who studies power usage in vehicles, Jon Bereisa, people charging their smartphones in their cars are slashing their fuel efficiency by 0.03 miles per gallon of gasoline.

A portable charger is now seen as the best tool to avoid this harm to the environment and a driver’s wallet.

When considering the number of vehicles and smartphones across the United States, Bereisa’s calculations show that charging using a car instead of an external battery pack could actually send an additional 970,000 tons of global warming-boosting carbon dioxide into the air.

That said, according to Delphi Automotive Plc vice president of engineering and program management, Mary Gustanski, “Do I think we’re at peak USB? No.” She added that “We’ll get more and more creative to not only allow you to connect with USB but also to connect wireless. Consumers want their car to be just like their home.”

While mobile technology may be evolving so that it will one day offer a solution that won’t have nearly as much of a negative impact on fuel consumption, until that day has come, a portable that fits easily in a pocket, handbag or glove compartment might be the ideal solution for fuel economy-conscious drivers who care about the environment and who are hoping to spend as little as possible at the pumps.