It is so amazing and unbelievable to believe the present day incarnation of a mobile device. It is indeed very difficult to believe that it would have reached such levels some 10 odd years ago. Representing the present generation it is indeed a culture shock seeing so many new features being added into a mobile device and I will say that the mobile devices are far outpacing the so called business norm set by Moore’s law in computing. Now they are talking of a so called concept called Mobile Wallet (M-Wallet), a time when mobile is set to replace everything for your wallet be it credit/debit cards, visiting cards, company ID, cash cards, photo albums etc. Unbelievable but yet true.
This is already in use to a large extent in Japan, always the mobile market which has shown the world its mobile innovation techniques even at the day to day personal life. The Japanese mobile market would like to make the mobile device usage as converged as possible to seamlessly make it adaptable to a common man’s need. One of the concepts successfully being implemented in Japanese market is the concept of mobile money (m-money). Some of the key m-money usages for Indian’s could be money remittance by expatriates back to India. Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) is one of the first applications that could be introduced by Indian mobile operators, who are testing this phenomenon at present. According to one of the estimates India is the largest recipient of international remittances worldwide at $ 22 billion (2005 data). This figure globally stands at $ 230 billion. This is a huge pie and a great business value addition for the mobile operators who can have a direct impact on their ARPU (Average Revenue per User) figures. This is a huge business opportunity for mobile commerce (m-commerce) companies.
How will the M-wallet work?
The m-wallet technology still needs more refinement but it will extensively use the RFID technology for data transfer with high tech security attached to it. But RFID technology is supposedly a costly application and once a common platform or norm is being devised amongst the stakeholders (govt., mobile operators, service providers and the component manufacturers) to have a common acknowledged eco system then the system will start producing m-wallet enabled devices. One of the key things is the software compatibility or standardization amongst the various operators or the consumers may loose out in the end. Hence in future m-commerce application such as bank account logins, credit card statements, buying train/airline tickets and paying utility bills will be accessible and executed through your handheld device.
It is very easy to make out the ominous advantages, post the advent of such an application. I did read from sources that Bharti Airtel and SBI is jointly conducting a pilot of this service.
Great going guys with your handhelds!
This is already in use to a large extent in Japan, always the mobile market which has shown the world its mobile innovation techniques even at the day to day personal life. The Japanese mobile market would like to make the mobile device usage as converged as possible to seamlessly make it adaptable to a common man’s need. One of the concepts successfully being implemented in Japanese market is the concept of mobile money (m-money). Some of the key m-money usages for Indian’s could be money remittance by expatriates back to India. Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) is one of the first applications that could be introduced by Indian mobile operators, who are testing this phenomenon at present. According to one of the estimates India is the largest recipient of international remittances worldwide at $ 22 billion (2005 data). This figure globally stands at $ 230 billion. This is a huge pie and a great business value addition for the mobile operators who can have a direct impact on their ARPU (Average Revenue per User) figures. This is a huge business opportunity for mobile commerce (m-commerce) companies.
How will the M-wallet work?
The m-wallet technology still needs more refinement but it will extensively use the RFID technology for data transfer with high tech security attached to it. But RFID technology is supposedly a costly application and once a common platform or norm is being devised amongst the stakeholders (govt., mobile operators, service providers and the component manufacturers) to have a common acknowledged eco system then the system will start producing m-wallet enabled devices. One of the key things is the software compatibility or standardization amongst the various operators or the consumers may loose out in the end. Hence in future m-commerce application such as bank account logins, credit card statements, buying train/airline tickets and paying utility bills will be accessible and executed through your handheld device.
It is very easy to make out the ominous advantages, post the advent of such an application. I did read from sources that Bharti Airtel and SBI is jointly conducting a pilot of this service.
Great going guys with your handhelds!
