Tag: smartphone payments

Even though it faced some financial setbacks, the program is still predicted to be ready in time for launch.

According to the latest reports from the Budapest Business Journal regarding the mobile payments system that is to be implemented across Hungary, it is still planning to be ready on time.

The predicted fall launch of the system is still set to be met by the creators of the national program.

Despite the fact that the mobile payments system faced issues regarding the loans that were supposed to pay for the development of the network, the creators were able to overcome the problems and still plan to meet their deadlines. This will be a considerable feat for those teams who have experienced a number of time setbacks and delays, but who are moving forward at full speed to put themselves back on track.

The mobile payments system for Hungary was first announced earlier in 2013 to be ready by fall.

The mobile payments system will be operated by Nemzeti Mobilfizetési, which is owned by the state, and which has been facing a number of sizeable funding challenges in order to cover the costs of the project. Just recently, it was denied a loan of $3.52 million (HUF 800 million) from the Public Procurement Arbitration Board in Hungary. Though these funds were believed to have been vital to its ability to continue and to complete its work on time, it still believes that it will be able to make its deadlines.

A statement that was released by Nemzeti Mobilfizetési has explained that the development that is required in order to expand the mobile payments system will be starting, as scheduled, before the end of this month, and that it will continue forward so that it will be ready for its predicted start date in September 2013.

The purpose of the Hungarian mobile payments system is to be able to create a standardized program across the entire country. It will offer this type of transaction for making purchases such as transit and transportation tickets, motorway stickers, parking fees, and other similar purchases. It is expected that the complete system will be ready to roll out between 2014 and 2017.

Retailer becomes more than mobile payments and e-commerce

Acclaimed online retailer eBay has established a formidable presence in the mobile commerce sector. The company has been one of the strongest supporters of mobile payments and has made extraordinary efforts to encourage consumers to use their mobile devices to shop online and purchase products. As eBay continues to assimilate mobile payments, the company is beginning to consider itself as something more than a simple retailer: eBay is beginning to envision itself as commerce itself.

Executive suggests that eBay represents commerce itself

The company’s Europe vice president of marketing, Alexander von Schirmeister, recently spoke about the company’s role in the retail sector. According to Schirmeister, eBay has begun to trannscend the boundaries of e-commerce, partly due to the company’s strong focus on the mobile space. Mobile payments have helped eBay break into new markets and engage a new generation of consumers in a more dynamic fashion. According to Schirmeister, eBay “is not m-commerce or e-commerce, it’s commerce period.”

Fluid nature of company makes it accommodating to the needs of consumers

Schirmeister notes that eBay has become capable of adapting to the different ways that people shop and pay for products so effectively that they can no longer be considered a company with a specific focus in terms of commerce. In the past, eBay had only been capable of accommodating the needs of online shoppers that used traditional desktop computers. As mobile technology grew more prominent, however, the company began seeing a transition in the world of commerce and adjusted itself accordingly. This has allowed eBay to put more focus on mobile payments, which are quickly becoming more popular around the world.

Mobile payments can help close the gap between online and offline worlds

Because eBay has begun to see its role in the retail sector evolve, it has been making moves to close the gap between the online and offline worlds. Mobile payments are expected to help significantly in this endeavor, as they allow the retailer to engage mobile consumers in the physical world without severing their ties to the Internet.