A quick summary overview of the market and
policy environment for Card, Internet and Mobile Payments in Europe:
The attention being paid to the Card payments
market by the European Commission and National Competition Authorities, whose
aim is to act increasingly and strongly to disrupt the status quo, is one of
the major factors contributing to the changes the payments industry is going
through. Considered as an bottleneck to innovation and anti-competitive, Public
Authorities are convinced that the development of new innovative payments such
as Mobile Payments but also the promotion of a revived economic growth require
immediate policy actions.
The combination of distrust
towards the banking industry, the economic and financial crisis, consumer
resistance to hidden charges, the irresistible emergence of the digital/mobile
convergence ecosystem and the increasingly essential articulation between the
physical and virtual /digital retail distribution channels are driving the
debate on Multilateral Interchange Fees.
These hidden interbank and card schemes charges associated to specific rules of
card schemes, lack of transparency, limiting conditions to market access, vertical
integration and control of the payments value chain but also proprietary closed
standards for new technologies are identified by Public Authorities as the main
culprits for a lack of competition, innovation and level playing field.
It is a much more complex ecosystem where
market players are at the same time cooperating and competing quite fiercely.
Mobile Operators (whether Mobile Network or Mobile Virtual Network Operators)
and Digital Technology companies are intent to penetrate the payment market in
a much more aggressive way than before. Banks are fragile and struggling to
maintain control of the market. Payments technology companies like although
under attack based on competition law retain an important role…
Payments are one of the crucial vectors for
changes and Mobile Wallets could be much more than the few limited developments
– often not that very successful – that have been tested in the last couple of
months. It is essential that the focus is shifting from a purely
technical/technology vision to a truly user/consumer experience one, with the
aim to make this experience a seamless, secure, safe, useful, simple and
affordable one.
With the support for major retailers and
merchants and the increasing competition brought upon by the Mobile players,
Mobile Wallets that would be conceived as a true Mobile Swiss Knife integrating
a range of personal features, services and functions on the SimCards/Devices
could see a dramatic rise of consumer adoption.
Stay
tuned!
More
on my blog: http://mobileconvergencecosystems.blogspot.co.uk/
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