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Mobile Wallets: The Market today
Helixion is an NFC Mobile Payment Expert company which
has been involved in mobile NFC payments since their
inception. It has seen the mobile wallet market develop
from infancy to the point where Helixion’s customers are
about to rollout their first commercial full wallet
developments utilising its technology.
Up until summer 2012, Helixion found that the focus in the market was very much on proving
that the NFC payment technology worked with a number of banks involved in small scale
pilots. Towards the end of 2012, Helixion saw a noticeable shift begin to take place: banks and
mobile network operators started to move beyond their pilot implementations to developing
the first generation of their Mobile Wallet solutions.
The reason for this shift is clear when you consider that British retailer Marks and Spencer
(M&S) is now seeing over 15% of transactions under £20 being made with contactless cards or
that Transport for London (TfL) has seen over 1.5 million bus tickets purchased using
contactless cards in the first five months since acceptance began, representing over 20% of
cash payments on London buses. This uptake shows that consumers like the contactless
option because of its speed and ease of use. Even those customers still using cash benefit
from reduced queuing times, thanks to those shoppers using contactless payments. For the
retailers, the benefits are lower cash handling costs and faster turn over at the point of sale.
At the moment, whilst most of these contactless payments have been made with plastic cards
containing an NFC chip rather than mobile phones, it does show that NFC payment
technology works well in the “bricks and mortar” world across all sectors. Given this, and the
fact that NFC integrates well into a mobile handset, it becomes the natural choice for mobile
payments in the physical world. Mobile wallets are the way to put these mobile payments,
and many other non-payment services, into the hands of consumers.
One network operator who has been developing their first commercial wallet is Swisscom
(Switzerland). Swisscom wanted to put together a proposition that service providers would
find more appealing than developing their own standalone wallet offerings. Whilst each wallet
development will bring its own set of challenges, Helixion believes that the success of the
Swisscom development and the lessons learned from it can provide a valuable insight for
those wishing to emulate similar success in their own developments.
“A mobile application, managing payment services using the SIM as the secure element, will
add significant value to our customers by providing them our products which are aimed to
facilitate their lives. However the introduction of such services to the market is very complex
and challenging for the whole ecosystem. Helixion helped us reduce the complexity and lower
the barriers.”
Sachin Mittal, Group Product Manager Mobile Payment at Swisscom.
For a more detailed discussion on the “co-petative” nature of mobile wallets and the
benefits of multiple vs. single wallet architectures, see Helixion’s whitepaper on the “The
Future of Mobile Wallets” available from http://www.helixion.com/nfc-news/downloads/.
A Helixion Case Study 3
Helixion is an NFC Mobile Payment Expert company which
has been involved in mobile NFC payments since their
inception. It has seen the mobile wallet market develop
from infancy to the point where Helixion’s customers are
about to rollout their first commercial full wallet
developments utilising its technology.
Up until summer 2012, Helixion found that the focus in the market was very much on proving
that the NFC payment technology worked with a number of banks involved in small scale
pilots. Towards the end of 2012, Helixion saw a noticeable shift begin to take place: banks and
mobile network operators started to move beyond their pilot implementations to developing
the first generation of their Mobile Wallet solutions.
The reason for this shift is clear when you consider that British retailer Marks and Spencer
(M&S) is now seeing over 15% of transactions under £20 being made with contactless cards or
that Transport for London (TfL) has seen over 1.5 million bus tickets purchased using
contactless cards in the first five months since acceptance began, representing over 20% of
cash payments on London buses. This uptake shows that consumers like the contactless
option because of its speed and ease of use. Even those customers still using cash benefit
from reduced queuing times, thanks to those shoppers using contactless payments. For the
retailers, the benefits are lower cash handling costs and faster turn over at the point of sale.
At the moment, whilst most of these contactless payments have been made with plastic cards
containing an NFC chip rather than mobile phones, it does show that NFC payment
technology works well in the “bricks and mortar” world across all sectors. Given this, and the
fact that NFC integrates well into a mobile handset, it becomes the natural choice for mobile
payments in the physical world. Mobile wallets are the way to put these mobile payments,
and many other non-payment services, into the hands of consumers.
One network operator who has been developing their first commercial wallet is Swisscom
(Switzerland). Swisscom wanted to put together a proposition that service providers would
find more appealing than developing their own standalone wallet offerings. Whilst each wallet
development will bring its own set of challenges, Helixion believes that the success of the
Swisscom development and the lessons learned from it can provide a valuable insight for
those wishing to emulate similar success in their own developments.
“A mobile application, managing payment services using the SIM as the secure element, will
add significant value to our customers by providing them our products which are aimed to
facilitate their lives. However the introduction of such services to the market is very complex
and challenging for the whole ecosystem. Helixion helped us reduce the complexity and lower
the barriers.”
Sachin Mittal, Group Product Manager Mobile Payment at Swisscom.
For a more detailed discussion on the “co-petative” nature of mobile wallets and the
benefits of multiple vs. single wallet architectures, see Helixion’s whitepaper on the “The
Future of Mobile Wallets” available from http://www.helixion.com/nfc-news/downloads/.
A Helixion Case Study 3
