First of all, could you share with our readers more about Monitise and its recent developments? Richard Johnson: Monitise is a Mobile Money enabler. We’re not a disrupter or a consumer brand, instead we help businesses provide successful Mobile Money services to their customers. Our clients are typically banks or payment companies such as Visa Europe or Visa Inc. and, increasingly as we progress further into the m-commerce space, we are working with telecommunications companies and retailers. For example, in July we signed an agreement with Telefónica Digital to develop and manage payment and commerce services for its customers. 24 million end users worldwide have signed up to our services, accounting for USD 50 billion of payments, purchases and transfers annually.
As time goes by, we’re beginning to hear more and more of mobile money and how our mobile phones take the place of wallets in our pockets. Could you share with our readers what mobile money represents from your point of view and how mobile phones have begun to shape our everyday lives?Richard Johnson: We can’t deny that mobile has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives, both personal and professional. Our phones are never far from our side and, in tandem with the soaring use of smartphones, mobile technology has progressed at lightning speed, giving more power to consumers to access information, connect with people, discover or research and make purchases with the swipe of a finger.
Mobile Money is the ability for people to manage their accounts, make payments or buy things from a mobile device. The reason why Mobile Money is so important is because the smartphone can offer people better ways of doing things compared to the existing choices they have. Take the balance enquiry, for example – by using a mobile app you can access the service 24/7 from wherever you happen to be rather than having to log on at the nearest computer or visit an ATM. But, just because you can do something via mobile, it doesn’t mean it’s always better than the option you already have – so paying for a can of coke with some loose change is still likely to be more convenient than reaching for your smartphone, entering your PIN and opening up the relevant app to pay by bar code at the point of sale. It’s important not to be blinded by high tech solutions that don’t solve a real problem.
Given the fact that Monitise develops global mobile money products, it would be interesting if you could share with us more information about these products. What are their key features and what sets them apart from other products currently on the market?Richard Johnson: Banks and other businesses use Monitise for two main reasons: firstly, because our technology platform helps them outsource the complexity of dealing with the mobile space, giving them lower cost and speed to market. Secondly, because we provide connectivity to the wider Mobile Money ecosystem, enabling our customers to enhance the services they provide to consumers and in doing so drive new revenue streams.
Our set of products covers the complete spectrum of Mobile Money services and draws a clear roadmap for future innovations: Bank Anywhere provides complete account management services including account balance, statements, transfers and alerts. Sending money to family and friends and paying bills is facilitated with Pay Anyone, and Buy Anything offers mobile shopping, loyalty and coupons, and instant mobile check out capabilities.
In the mobile payments space what would be the winning formula for banks? What services would they need to provide in order to be successful on this front? Richard Johnson: The potential for Mobile Money is attracting a huge amount of attention, not just from traditional players like banks, but also via the advances made by Google, Paypal and other major innovative players, or innovative tech start-ups – many of whom are creating mobile wallets. These represent a potential threat to banks in that banks could just become the funding mechanism for these wallets, with all the data-rich consumer engagement going through the industry newcomers. The monetisation of that data is the real opportunity here.
The winning formula for banks to help protect their role in the mobile space is to first create high engagement mobile banking apps – the ones we work with experience in excess of 25 consumer interactions a month on average. Many other banks took the shortcut of putting an iPhone app on the front of internet banking, which doesn’t result in the engagement levels needed to get to the front screen of people’s smartphones.
A key lesson we can take from e-commerce is that content follows traffic, so having created high engagement apps, banks have the opportunity to bring new content to their customers. They are extremely well placed to do this because they are among the most trusted brands, they hold data which can enhance the customer experience, and because of their existing ‘front of screen’ position on the smartphone, which is thanks to the success of mobile banking services and the levels of consumer engagement that follows that.
Some recent research we commissioned with the Future Foundation revealed that consumers would trust m-commerce that was brought to them by their bank more than from other players. This was also reflected in where they’d be prepared to purchase high-value items. Bringing content in this way not only enables the bank to play a bigger role in consumers’ lives but also protects them against distintermediation and generates significant new revenue streams.
In your opinion, where will mobile commerce be in 5 years from now and what role do value-added services play within the m-commerce ecosystem? Richard Johnson: The power of the smartphone is driving a revolution in retailing, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Retail 2.0’. What seemed futuristic just a short time ago is now here. This includes services like ‘showrooming’, which involves scanning a barcode and buying the product for a lower price somewhere else; the concept of the ‘endless aisle’, so when you’re in store you aren’t limited to stock on shelves as you can order from warehouse; ‘remote ordering’ or ‘click and collect’, based on the e-commerce model; or a whole variety of new services based on advancements in mobile technology, such as QRs and digital watermarking. There’s also the mPOS revolution, which is now enabling small traders to take card payments using their smartphone.
The recent explosion in mobile wallets can be seen as attempts by a number of different players to gain pole position in this retailing revolution. We think there will be continued rapid change in this space.
What does Monitise plan for the future? Have you set any goals for the next 2-3 years?Richard Johnson: Our goal for the future is very simple: we want to help more businesses deliver high-engagement apps to more consumers. Our mission is then to enable businesses to extend the range of Mobile Money services they provide, creating value for both themselves and their customers.
About MonitiseMonitise is a world leader in Mobile Money - banking, paying and buying with a mobile device. Leading banks, payments companies, retailers and mobile networks utilise Monitises technology platforms and services to securely connect people with their money. Already 24 million consumers benefit from Monitise’s patented technology to bank anywhere, pay anyone and buy anything accounting for USD 50 billion of payments, purchases and transfers annually. More information is available at www.monitise.com.
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