Issue 49 • APRIL 2014
PAYM’s payments via mobile number starts this month
News
THIS MONTH...
• Tablet ownership up 63% as m-ad spend hits £6.3bn 3 • 50% of UK consumers shun complicated m-pay, says O8 5 • 118 DX services told to up their game by PPP 5 • Telefonica teams with JCDeceaux to M2M enable the world... 6 • ... and it rolls out M2M solution for Tesla electic cars across Europe 7 • UK retailers now lag behind US counterparts in mobile 8 • Majority of US shoppers don’t want to be tracked by beacons 9 • 50% of online sales in UK to come from mobile this year 10 • Majority of British travellers want to text at 30,000 feet 10
Analysis
CONSUMERS WILL BE able to use their mobile phone numbers to make bank payments from 29 April, it has been announced by the Payments Council, as it clarifies the launch of its Paym service. And with plans for it to eventually become a consumer to business payment tool, it could have huge implications for Payforit and telemedia billing. For consumers, the launch of Paym means that account-holders will be able to pay friends, family or traders without having to ask for their bank details. Instead, they will only need to ask for their mobile number, according to the Payments Council. However both parties will have to register to use the service, known as Paym - pronounced “Pay Em”. Similar systems have already been introduced by Barclays and RBS NatWest leading many to think that p2p payments is already getting too baffling for consumers. And that’s before the likes of Zapp and Znap enter the market. There are also concerns that it will lead to security risks and that it will make it increasingly hard for consumers to budget their spending. It is also likely to be something that providers of Payforit will look at closely as it potentially – if opened up to be used as a consumer to business payment tool, which the Payments Council hasn’t ruled out – could hit some of the areas that telemedia companies are trying to target with Payforit services. Customers of Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Santander and TSB can now all regeister for the service (only one account per phone number, mind). Other banks - including NatWest, RBS and First Direct - will join the scheme later in the year. The Payments Council, which supervises banking transactions in the UK, has rejected fears about fraud. Neil Aitken, from the Payments Council, told BBC Radio 5 live that the system was secure. “The only thing that people would be able to do if they got your mobile number is pay you - it will be integrated in to your existing banking app so it’s password protected,” he said.
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EDITORIAL Future time M-payments is just the start of a revolution in how we use money – and it means curtains for banks, finds Paul Skeldon 11 ANALYSIS SMS is dead, long live SMS Many have written SMS off as a dead technology in the What’sapp age, but as Alex Kinch, CEO of Ziron, explains, A2P is going to save it 12 ANALYSIS Into the mainstream Gary Fietz, CEO of Triton Global, explains how direct carrier billing needs to now be better positioned to hit the mainstream – and the whole industry has to work together to do it 14 ANALYSIS The winner takes it all Mobile is taking m-gambling by storm. Where does telemedia billing fit in? Paul Skeldon takes a look ahead of the mGaming and mPayment summits 16 SHOW PREVIEW mSummits: the power of two Take a sneak peak at what is happening on 15 May at the industry leading gaming and payments events 18
DIRECTORY
The leading industry directory of services 23
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