BWild |
February 13, 2013
Twitter takes aims at mobile commerce with the help of American Express
Twitter is one of the world’s most used social networks. The network boasts of a highly active user base, which has afforded the company significant success in the world of business. Twitter has reportedly been looking for new ways to generate revenue. Such reports seem to have been true as the social network has entered into a partnership with American Express. The partnership will be focused on introducing e-commerce and mobile commerce elements into Twitter.
Mobile user base adds momentum to Twitter’s initiative in e-commerce
Twitter has been showing a strong interest in e-commerce in recent months. The massive number of users that access Twitter through their mobile devices has also piqued the company’s interest in mobile commerce. The company sees major potential in this field and has turned to American Express to help it tap into the burgeoning mobile commerce market that has been successful for other companies.
Users will be able to purchase products by posting to Twitter
Per the partnership, American Express customers will be able to associate their credit card numbers with their Twitter accounts. This will allow consumers to make purchases by simply posting to Twitter. This initiative will be introduced over the next few days, with Twitter users able to purchase products from American Express itself, as well as Amazon and products from Donna Karan. Because Twitter’s primary demographic is mobile consumers, the move is expected to help establish the social network’s presence in the mobile commerce space.
Success of new initiative has yet to be seen
This is not the first time American Express has introduced a mobile commerce element to a social network. Last year, the financial services company partnered with Foursquare for a similar initiative. Twitter expects to see significant benefits from its adoption of mobile commerce and suggests that there will be major marketing opportunities for businesses using the social network due to the new partnership. Whether consumers will respond well to the mobile commerce services that Twitter is adopted has yet to be seen.
MasterCard sees promising growth in mobile commerce ventures
Financial giant MasterCard has announced promising growth for its mobile payment platform known as PayPass. The company reports that the platform has seen the most aggressive growth in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, with 28% expansion in this markets during 2012. This growth is being attributed to the popularity that has begun to surround mobile commerce, as well as the proliferation of mobile devices throughout these markets. As more consumers get their hands on smart phones and tablets, MasterCard claims that the demand for mobile commerce rises.
PayPass becoming more popular among businesses and consumers
According to MasterCard, the PayPass platform now boasts of more than 700,000 merchants in 51 countries around the world. The company suggests that the growth of this platform is most rapid in markets where consumers are eager for a convenient alternative to traditional currency. Mobile commerce offers such an alternative as all transactions made through a mobile device involve digital currency rather than physical currency. Consumers have shown a strong interest in using their financial information to make purchases for everyday products from their mobile devices.
Favorable markets see rising demand for mobile commerce services
South Africa, Australia, South Korea, and Singapore are among the strongest markets for the PayPass currently. These countries have shown strong support for mobile commerce and mobile device penetration in these markets is gaining strong momentum. MasterCard has established strong partnerships with other financial service companies in these countries to further solidify its position in their blossoming mobile commerce sectors. This year, the company expects to see further growth in these markets as it introduces new mobile commerce services through PayPass.
Innovation may secure future of PayPass
Innovation will be the key to further growth and MasterCard has plans to introduce better services and features to the platform that will make it more attractive to consumers. PayPass is currently involved in a variety of trial projects throughout the world that are designed to get consumers comfortable with the idea of mobile commerce. Many of these trials have proven successful, but consumers are beginning to demand better services from PayPass that are already being introduced by MasterCard’s competitors.
