White paper helps banks decide how to implement NFC services

The Mobey Forum has published a white paper designed to assist financial institutions in deciding what role to adopt in the mobile financial services value chain and to choose what kind of technical solutions will work best.

WHITE PAPER: 'Offers the necessary business detail on one of the most hotly debated topics in mobile payments.'

The Mobey Forum, the bank-led international mobile financial services forum, has published a white paper which aims to assist financial institutions in deciding the role they will adopt in the mobile financial services value chain.

‘Alternatives for Banks to Offer Secure Mobile Payments’ provides an analysis of the mobile financial ecosystem, its stakeholders, and the value chain positions that can be achieved by banks though different business models.

It aims to help financial institutions decide if they want to implement contactless payments and NFC enabled services immediately, using solutions such as stickers and secure microSD cards, or invest in solutions that are still advancing, such as handsets with built-in NFC functionality.

Targeted at senior management and other decision makers in financial institutions, the paper provides:

  • An analysis of the current status of the mobile financial services ecosystem.
  • An overview of all stakeholders – including those related to secure elements – in the mobile financial services value chain.
  • Details of the secure element issuance process, lifecycle management and potential Trusted Service Manager pricing models.
  • A chapter on the features, application and impact of different secure elements – including stickers, secure micro SD cards, universal integrated circuit card, embedded secure element and trusted mobile base – in mobile financial services.

“Discussions in mobile payments can become highly technical, confusing the issue for business managers who require clear and easily accessible information to inform decision making,” says Ron van Wezel, chairman of Mobey Forum and director of emerging payment streams at Deutsche Bank. “With this new white paper the Mobey Forum offers the necessary business detail on one of the most hotly debated topics in mobile payments.”

“Although both consumer and merchant feedback from NFC payment pilots has been extremely positive, highlighting the fast throughput, convenience and innovative loyalty services available, the advancement of mobile contactless payments has been more challenging than expected,” adds Liisa Kanniainen, executive director of Mobey Forum.

“The main reason for this is the complicated and fragmented ecosystem, which requires new business relationships to be formed between financial institutions, mobile network operators, handset vendors, merchants and other service providers,” she adds. “This white paper promotes collaboration and is intended to reduce the complexity of the ecosystem by educating readers on how the secure element will empower the various stakeholders, and offer new and creative commercial opportunities.

“By defining precise value chain positions, and outlining the range of secure element technologies available, the paper will also help financial organisations to identify the most interesting partnerships and implementation models open to them,” Kanniainen concludes.

Readers can download the full white paper from the Mobey Forum website.

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