According to the report, mobile payments are still an embryonic technology, with dozens of alternative methods in use. IDC Financial Insights believes that there is no one best model toward which all mobile payment systems will converge, rather different models will be favored depending on the concentration of telecommunications and financial assets in each country.
"The topic of mobile payments is a controversial one, with dozens of competing technologies, strategies, and business models," said Aaron McPherson, practice director at IDC Financial Insights and the principal author of the report. "In our view, too many analyses have focused on the technology, rather than the organizational structure. In this report, we examine five case studies of successful mobile payments systems from around the world to identify best practices and their dependency on social, political, technological, and economic factors."
Key findings of the study include the following:
* The most successful mobile payment schemes are those in which the scheme operator controls both the banking and the telecommunications assets. This has been achieved either by a company in one field acquiring a company in the other or via a joint venture.
* Several economic and cultural factors determine which organizational model is best for a specific country. Thus, there is no one "best" model worldwide; variations are to be expected from country to country.
* No one technology will dominate the mobile payments field. Instead, multiple technologies will coexist, serving different user groups and device types.
Each case study was chosen to typify one of the following basic organizational structures:
* Multibank: MasterCard MoneySend
* Bank-mobile operator partnership: Jibun Bank
* Multi-mobile operator: Zoompass
* Single mobile operator: SK Telecom
* Third-party proprietary: PayPal Mobile
The case studies are supplemented with the results of an October 2009 survey of 1,008 U.S. consumers, which highlights the need for a viable mobile payments solution to support multiple technologies and platforms.
source: IDG