Tag: mobile payments

The largest mobile companies in the United Kingdom are coming together to boost m-commerce.

The leading mobile operators in the United Kingdom are coming together once more in a joint effort to create a new approach to an industry wide jumpstart to the mobile payments market that has been struggling in the country.

There is already a surprising amount of competition in this market which has yet to prove itself.

The three major players in this mobile payments effort are Everything Everywhere (the joint venture between T-Mobile and Orange), as well as Telefonica UK (also recognized as O2), and Vodafone UK (also known simply as Vodafone). These three companies have announced that they will be working together for both transactions and for mobile marketing.

There is a rival competitor that is notably absent in this mobile payments partnership.

As this mobile commerce platform comes together, it is notable that the operator, 3, is absent in the mix. This is interesting because it will clearly be a factor being considered when competition authorities have their look.

That said, ahead of that time – if it does indeed occur – the players in this partnership will need to come up with a way of accomplishing what they are calling a “groundbreaking venture”, which has promised “to accelerate the development of innovative mobile services for consumers and business customers.”

This does have the potential of adding something different to the transactions and mobile ecommerce space, as it would provide one standard ecosystem that would assist retailers, marketers, and banks, alike, in communicating with consumers. This is a very strong trend, at the moment, and assembling it into a single standard ecosystem is becoming an extremely fashionable goal.

What will also be interesting to watch throughout the development of this partnership is the role that NFC technology will play. It has previously struggled in the U.K., and was abandoned outright by O2 only last week. Also undisclosed, at this point, will be the size of the investment contribution that will be made by each of the companies in order to be able to move this mobile payments startup forward.

MoPowered continues to make progress in the mobile space

Mobile commerce firm MoPowered has announced that it has added 27 new clients in less than two months. The company now accounts for 127 clients and expects its revenue to grow by 33% over what it had been in 2013. According to the firm’s CEO, Dominic Keen, the market for mobile commerce has proven to be quite promising. The company plans to continue engaging mobile consumers aggressively in order to take advantage of positive market trends.

Firm raises $5 million to expand and improve its services for online retailers

MoPowered raised some $5 million in funding in December last year and has been connecting with retailers that are interested in mobile shopping and the mobile space in general. Consumers have become quite reliant on their mobile devices in recent years and many are using these devices to shop online and purchase products. It is becoming more common for consumers to purchase products in physical stores with their smartphones and tablets. Retailers currently appear to favor the online aspects of mobile commerce over its offline potential.

Mobile websites must provide a favorable experience if consumers are to participate in mobile shopping

MoPowered specializes in revitalizing websites and making them more accommodating to smartphones and tablets. Retail mobile sites are often lackluster and provide consumers with a poor shopping experience. Consumers with a poor shopping experience are unlikely to continue using a particular website or service. MoPowered helps ensure that consumers have a good experience with mobile shopping.

MoPowered expected to face strong competition from larger companies in the mobile commerce space

MoPowered has positioned itself to accelerate its acquisition of new clients in 2014. The funding that the company has raised, along with the patronage of new clients, has helped it expand and improve its mobile commerce platform. MoPowered will, of course, have to compete with a multitude of other companies that are trying to engage mobile consumers. Competition may be fierce, as several large organizations have taken a strong interest in the mobile space and plan to continue strengthening their presence therein throughout the coming year.