I just returned from two weeks discussing strategy with mobile commerce executives across Southeast Asia. Despite having spent considerable time in North America, Latin America and Europe, this was my first trip to the region. I found the similarities and differences intriguing.

In North America and Europe, execs I meet often mentally write-off Asia as so foreign and different that their experience aren’t relevant. Perhaps this is true for South Korea and Japan which have very specialized markets; however, in Southeast Asia there continue to be far more similarities than differences.

For example, everyone is struggling with mobile adoption growth. Mobile is happening – and it’s happening fast – but, it’s still around 2-4% of online. Everyone wants it to grow faster, while struggling to support what they have. Many companies simply turn mobile on and customers show up with little or no promotion.

Similarly, travel and financial services lead the way. These verticals have higher adoption and the most mature solutions in each region around the world. Many of these companies are on their second or third major version of their mobile ...

Europe once led mobile

Mobile commerce was born in Europe, but Europe has lost its way.

Japan and South Korea could argue they were first. They could also argue they still lead the world. Maybe they’re right. However, European style mobile commerce was patterned around the world. Kenya’s M-PESA style branchless banking for the developing world is another pattern that succeeded and is thriving, but isn’t applicable to the well-banked around the world.

Somewhere along the success of the BlackBerry and the iPhone Europe fell behind.

For example, all the UK banks but one implemented Monitise. All the UK solutions provide nearly identical look-and-feel with nearly identical capabilities that once were ground breaking like balance inquiries and person-to-person electronic-check payments if you know the recipient’s bank routing number and account number.

New features and support for new phones is slow in coming. Even worse, talking to UK bankers, they’re not bullish on moving the needle because they think their competitors aren’t either. I’ve had similar conversations with bankers and retailers in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and elsewhere in ...

Mobile will kill the dedicated Point-of-Sale terminal

The retail point-of-sale (POS) terminal as we know it is going away and may take some POS providers with it.

Smartphones and tablets are poised to fundamentally change the bricks-and-mortar checkout experience. Apple created this trend at the dawn of the iPhone age, when they gave associates iPod Touch devices with a credit card magstripe reader case. Sales associates help customers wherever they are and close the deal on the sales floor instead of making customers line up in queues and patiently wait like livestock. Nordstrom has also untethered associates with a customized mobile device.

Retailers are struggling with a number of converging trends. Multichannel shopping is creating challenges in measuring performance in any one channel. Mobile payments and NFC technology are creating pressure to upgrade POS equipment while there’s considerable uncertainty about which technology is required. Mobile commerce and location-based services are growing dramatically and are impacting ...

Native apps account for slightly more than half the mobile conversion

Retailers focusing solely on mobile web may be missing half their customers.

I’ve been looking at conversion across Kony customers and I’m seeing a pattern that is counter to the assumptions of conventional wisdom: about half the visits are from native applications and the other half come from mobile web.

More importantly for retailers: half the conversion is coming from native apps in addition to half the visits.

This means transactional native applications cannot be overlooked as a part of your mobile strategy.

I haven’t seen any other studies to compare this observation. I was speaking with Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru Wednesday and asked her if she had seen any other data along these lines and she said she also hadn’t seen any studies looking at conversion between mobile web and native channels. I suspect that Kony has a unique perspective since Kony customers tend to cover three, four, five or more channels.

Transactional native applications cannot be overlooked as a part of your mobile strategy.

Hotwire mobile HTML5 site

Many technologists hope HTML5 will be the silver bullet to tame the mobile chaos. Ironically, HTML5 simply adds another mobile channel organizations must support.

The HTML5 standard isn’t scheduled for completion until 2022. But even if it were standardized today, intense competitive forces would start splintering the technology as they have with many technologies before. Most importantly, future hardware and software innovations will only be accessible through native applications until the standards are updated and browsers implement the support. This process could take years.

This means marketers wanting to compete effectively in the mobile marketplace can’t rely on browser technology alone. For better or for worse, organizations must continue using native applications and other technologies in addition to browsers.

Marketers wanting to compete effectively in the mobile marketplace can’t rely on browser technology alone

Why HTML5 is no silver bullet:

Standard not scheduled for completion until 2022 Native necessary to access innovative hardware until support is added into HTML5 and browsers begin implementing that support Non-standard browser implementations caused by competitive forces

About HTML5

HTML5 is a significant new revision to the HTML standard ...

Boy Genius Report reported today that Bank of America is launching a BlackBerry-only NFC mobile wallet trial.

Participation is by invitation only and requires an active Bank of America credit or debit card and specific BlackBerry versions. RIM BlackBerry models supported are:

BlackBerry Curve 8520, 8530 BlackBerry Tour 9630 BlackBerry Bold 9000, 9650, 9700

All BlackBerrys must have the ability to download applications enabled.

According to BGR, Bank of America is sending new battery covers to participants with a microSD NFC card. Contactless NFC payments can be made wherever Mastercard PayPass is accepted. It’s unclear how this works for Visa cards.

Bank of America’s microSD approach enables them to provide payments without carrier participation and most importantly without having to share revenue with carriers. The challenge with this approach is that many phones, specifically the iPhone, do not have microSD slots.

Bank of America is an investor in mobile vendor mFoundry who provides BlackBerry applications. It is likely that mFoundry is participating in this process although mFoundry has been losing key NFC talent like Benjamin Vigier who went to Apple, Jon Squire who went to SK C&C, and Bjorn Hildahl who ...

I recently attended my first Finovate conference, which also happened to be their first in Europe.  The venue was the Business Design Centre in the Islington section of London.  It’s a great format – 35 different vendors, each with a 7 minute demonstration, and some networking slots mixed in.  It covered a lot of ground in a short period of time, while still affording one the luxury of walking away with some salient points still in mind.  That’s about the right amount of time, at least for those of us in the US, as we’re conditioned to a commercial break every 6-8 minutes.

It appears as though 2011 is the year of the online PFM in Europe as there were 6 PFM providers.  The next major topic was social network oriented services such as LiqPay’s Facebook payment solution, Fidor Bank’s “Bank 2.0,” and a number of investment related applications from eToro, Hopee (BNP Paribas), StockTwits and Uniience, some of which are mobile enabled.  It’s certainly worth taking a look at some of these or onles like them if you’re contemplating a refresh of your online presence.

This being the Mobile Manifesto, however, my primary interest ...

Mobile Banking is the primary channel for a growing number of consumers

Mobile banking is becoming the primary channel for interacting with the bank for a growing number of users.

In May 2010 USAA reported that 38% of their mobile banking users considered mobile to be their primary interface with the bank.

Now research firm Novarica has found that 13% of smartphone users consider mobile their primary means to check balances.

Similarly, 9% of smartphone users consider mobile their primary means for transferring funds.

40% of mobile bankers with smartphones use mobile primarily

Studies from Fiserv, Javelin and others have consistently found that 80% or more of mobile banking usage involves balance checking. Transfers usually are the second most popular transaction. Few mobile banking applications offer remote funds deposit or new account opening, so it’s no surprise the responses were low. Not offering a feature is a great way to prevent adoption.

USAA is essentially an online-only bank and their membership contains many highly mobile and highly technical active duty military personnel. Mobile is the ideal medium for them and online ...

Apple NFC Mobile Payment Patent

Bloomberg reignited speculation that the Apple iPhone 5 will have NFC mobile payment capabilities. TechCruch picked up the story and fanned the flames.

There’s nothing new here however.

Bloomberg’s article “Apple Plans That Lets Users Pay With iPhones” quotes two consultants Richard Doherty and Richard Crone and does not specify whether either has direct knowledge of the matter. Apple declined to comment and is notoriously secretive. If either consultant has knowledge of Apple’s NFC plans, they are quite likely in breach of their confidentiality agreement.

TechCruch picked up the story with the article “Apple Aims To Take NFC Mainstream; Perhaps The Greatest Trick They’ve Ever Pulled?“. TechCrunch reads into the Bloomberg speculation and questions whether the Verizon iPhone will ship with NFC.

Here’s the bottom line, and this my speculation based upon my industry experience:

Apple is very likely to include NFC in iPhone 5 Apple is also well positioned to offer a ...

The iPhone is finally coming to Verizon

Today Verizon announced they’ll have the iPhone. This means more than 180 million subscribers in the U.S. will have access to the iPhone. It’s likely that Sprint, T-Mobile and other carriers will also eventually get the iPhone.

Wider iPhone availability will accelerate the already blazing growth of smartphones and mobile commerce. Look for gloves-off competition between smartphone platforms.

Google’s Android platform now faces pressure from Apple and Microsoft. Android has Windows Phone 7 has received generally good reviews from users so far and is a viable alternative to Android and iPhone. Look for manufacturers and carriers to offer it.

With the iPhone on Verizon, Android no longer has a protected position as the iPhone for Verizon customers. Now those customers can have the iPhone as the iPhone.

Consumers will benefit from the resulting innovation.

Mobile payments – and contactless NFC (near field communication) in particular – is shaping up as the battleground for 2011.

Yes, mobile payments have been “just a year away” for each of the last 10 years. But this time it looks different. Really.

Google launched the Nexus S in December 2010 ...