Weve teams with MasterCard to accelerate adoption among businesses
Weve, an upcoming mobile commerce platform in the United Kingdom, has announced that it has partnered with MasterCard. This partnership is meant to make the launch of Weve throughout the UK smooth as well as accelerate the rate at which merchants adopt the platform. The United Kingdom is quickly becoming one of the most attractive mobile payments market in the world. More consumers are using their mobile devices to shop online, claiming that shopping from a mobile device is more convenient.
Weve aims to provide organizations with platform that can effectively engage consumers
Weve was introduced last year after it had won the approval of the European Union. The platform represents a joint venture from Vodafone, EE, and O2, three of the largest telecommunications organizations in the United Kingdom. Weve is meant to serve as an all-encompassing platform that banks, retailers, and advertisers can use to engage mobile consumers. Such platforms are becoming more important as consumers begin to rely more heavily on their smartphones and tablets in daily life.
Partnership with MasterCard may attract more attention to mobile commerce platform
In partnering with MasterCard, Weve may be able attract the attention of banks and other organizations more quickly. Banks and retailers typically invest in third parties to develop mobile commerce platforms for them, but these platforms are often quickly developed and offer limited features to consumers. Through Weve, businesses will have a well-developed platform they can use to engage consumers more effectively and provide these consumers with a favorable experience.
Weve may not win favor with iOS consumers without NFC devices
Weve anticipates that it will see widespread rollout in the United Kingdom beginning in 2015. The platform is expected to be used as part of more than 300,000 point of sale systems in the country. The problem, however, is that the platform is based on NFC technology, meaning that those without NFC-enabled mobile devices, such as those with iOS devices, will not be able to make use of Weve. This could limit the potential acceptance than Weve receives in the United Kingdom.
China continues to show favor for mobile payments and similar services
Mobile payment services in China have seen strong growth in 2013. A new report from iResearch, an online tracking and data analysis firm, shows that independent mobile commerce platforms have found a great deal of support from Chinese consumers. People throughout the country are turning to these platforms in order to shop online and pay for products they are interested with their mobile device rather than with physical currency. As device ownership continues to grow, mobile commerce is expected to become much more prevalent throughout the country.
707% growth in mobile payments throughout 2013
According to the report from iResearch, some $200 billion in mobile payments was made throughout 2013. This represents a 707% year-over-year increase and the momentum that mobile commerce platforms have already been able to generate is expected to carry well into the future. Consumers claim to favor mobile commerce services because of their convenience and the fact that they allow people to manage their finances from their mobile devices rather than being forced to do so at home from their computers.
Report shows that NFC technology is losing ground
The report from iResearch suggests that mobile shopping is no longer the main attractor of most mobile commerce platforms. According to the report, online money transfers and banking features are quickly becoming the main reason people use these platforms. As these services see more attention from consumers, their use of NFC technology is beginning to diminish. The report shows that NFC-based mobile commerce services in China dropped from 2.6% in 2012 to just 0.8% in 2013. NFC has never been popular in China and mobile commerce services have managed to find success without making use of the technology.
China is becoming increasingly mobile-centric
China has established itself as a very active and attractive mobile market. Not only are mobile payments flourishing throughout the country, but mobile games are also generating a great deal of profit and economic activity. Advertisers in China are also beginning to focus on mobile consumers more aggressively, launching interactive mobile marketing campaigns that are designed to be more dynamic than traditional marketing initiatives.
