Microsoft and M-Com recently published a white paper discussing the Mobile Payments landscape.  In the white paper titled “Mobile Payments: Delivering Compelling Customer and Shareholder Value through a Complete, Coherent Approach”, the authors outlined the current state of the payments industry. 

The paper analyzed a range of issues surrounding the mobile payments industry that still need to be considered and resolved before serious movement can proceed.  An in depth look at the lack of industry standardization pertaining to processes and operating models, the lack of collaboration among parties within the value chain, security and risk concerns, the need for mobile application, device interoperability and enterprise integration framework was provided.

The paper does a great job of defining the various types of payment actors, as well as laying out the taxonomy of payment transactions in the mobile payment ecosystem.  In addition, it provides a good overview of the mobile payments current landscape, outlining the issues, opportunities and indicates areas for improved business interoperability within the sector.

One section of the paper that I found most interesting was the perspective around the distinct economic drivers that make mobile payments attractive to the various industry players, including financial institutions, mobile network operators, merchants, and retailers.   Economic drivers that were discussed include revenue models, customer retention and acquisition, cost reduction and return on investment.

I would recommend a read of this paper, as it is a good primer to the mobile payments industry.  You can find the white paper here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=9997243d-5f1b-405b-b0cb-f14ecdfb8566

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Name: Long Van Title: Mobile Financial Services Solution Architect Company: DonRiver Inc. View Long Van's Blog