Page 5 - Helixion-swisscom-tapit-case-study
P. 5
Cooperation, Competition & Partnerships
Swisscom recognised that in order to create value for both
themselves and their customers, it was necessary to allow
other service providers to include content within the Tapit
application.
One of the greatest challenges in a development of this nature is the number of parties
involved, which requires the co-ordination of multiple teams and the integration of multiple
components. In the complex eco-system of “open-loop” mobile payments, there is not much
scope to reduce the number of players. Many would argue that the eco-system is overly
complex and there are some early wallet developments that have failed to get going due to
too many competing interests.
Swisscom however, had a clear vision for Tapit and recognised from the outset that to achieve
success, it required the cooperation of other key parties. This meant selecting its partners
carefully in order to ensure that there was a common vision rather than a set of competing
interests. By doing this Swisscom has been able to keep the scope well under control but even
so, at a top level there are 5 parties involved in the development:
• Swisscom themselves
• Helixion as the wallet developer
• A SIM manufacturer
• Two service providers representing services from each of the “big two” payment card
schemes: Mastercard and Visa.
The two service providers that Swisscom selected as partners for the initial launch of the
application each had its own relationship with a Trusted Service Manager (TSM) to control
A Helixion Case Study 5
Swisscom recognised that in order to create value for both
themselves and their customers, it was necessary to allow
other service providers to include content within the Tapit
application.
One of the greatest challenges in a development of this nature is the number of parties
involved, which requires the co-ordination of multiple teams and the integration of multiple
components. In the complex eco-system of “open-loop” mobile payments, there is not much
scope to reduce the number of players. Many would argue that the eco-system is overly
complex and there are some early wallet developments that have failed to get going due to
too many competing interests.
Swisscom however, had a clear vision for Tapit and recognised from the outset that to achieve
success, it required the cooperation of other key parties. This meant selecting its partners
carefully in order to ensure that there was a common vision rather than a set of competing
interests. By doing this Swisscom has been able to keep the scope well under control but even
so, at a top level there are 5 parties involved in the development:
• Swisscom themselves
• Helixion as the wallet developer
• A SIM manufacturer
• Two service providers representing services from each of the “big two” payment card
schemes: Mastercard and Visa.
The two service providers that Swisscom selected as partners for the initial launch of the
application each had its own relationship with a Trusted Service Manager (TSM) to control
A Helixion Case Study 5
