Exclusive Interview with Kieron Guilfoyle, CEO Of 3V TS

First of all, it would be interesting to provide our readers with some background information on 3V Transaction Services – its business model, vision and particularly its focus on mobile financial services.
3VTS is a payments technology company. Founded in 2004, with a focus on online / internet payments 3VTS has retained that area of focus and continued to expand internationally as well as continuing to innovate in the online payments world. 3VTS was the first company in the world that brought to market the simple idea that a consumer could walk into their local shop with cash and leave with a Visa number, the relevant security details on their mobile phone, allowing them to shop online globally completely securely and free from fraud concerns.

The first real consumers did this in 2005 and here we are 7 years later and still hundreds of thousands of consumers are still doing that. The mobile channel has always been part of our vision and delivery focus. We included SMS capability right from the start in 2005. The recent developments into APs, and NFC are just logical extensions for us.

On January 24th, 3V Transaction Services extended its mobile money technology platform from the Republic of Ireland into Netherlands, following a successful partnership with Telefonica, which resulted in the development of the 3V O2 Money offering. Could you tell us more about this partnership? What did it consist of and what features turned out to be most popular with Irish consumers?
Yes, 3VTS is a business to business provider. In markets we work with key partners, some of whom use our brand and some who don’t. In Holland our partners started with the voucher product in 2010. Extending that into a reloadable chip and pin card in 2011 was the next logical step in the plan. Complementing the user experience with the support of our mobile capability, like we do for Telefonica / O2 Money in Ireland, is part of the offering and our commitment to continually innovate.

Irish consumers have readily adopted to O2 Money and all the technological support we provide behind same. In the coming weeks there are some very innovative developments coming to market.

The new 3V Visa Prepay offering in the Netherlands allows consumers to link a debit card to their mobiles and use the funds to carry out purchases. How does the system function, effectively? What functionalities does it offer?
In the first instance it is a reloadable prepaid chip and pin Visa card. It has all the security and support of the Visa brand and works in shops, ATMS and online websites globally. Crucially for consumers however there are no debt fears. Allied to this capability there are a range of mobile based support functions. Using either SMS or the Aps, they can ; check their balance, transfer funds to each other, pay for services using the card as the funding source. A practical example is instant global remittance / funds transfer where the recipient can withdraw from an ATM immediately after the sender completes the send transaction.

What are the top USPs for the 3V mobile offering in the Netherlands? What parts of the 3V m-payments value proposition do you expect to prove most convincing in bringing customers on board?
Customers can load via iDeal, from their domestic bank account, from any international bank account, and in their local shop with cash. They can via their phones track their spending, have alerts on their balances, transfer funds to each other. Coming, as we are starting in Ireland in Q1’2012, they will be able to “over the air” provision the funds into an NFC wallet in their handset (assuming it is compatible) and ‘tap&go’ at relevant physical NFC payment enabled locations.

How are transactions carried out via the 3V mobile payments system secured? Where is payment data stored and how is consumers’ sensitive information protected in case the mobile device is lost or stolen?
We partner with Visa and member banks. The cards are issued by the bank and we act as the technology and payments platform that supports the whole process.

What financial services partners (if any) does your company have?
ABN Amro in Holland, Raphaels bank in UK, Ireland and Spain, People’s Trust in Canada, and of couse Visa globally. We were chosen by Visa to deliver a payments engine for them for London Olympics 2012 and that went live in Q1’2011. It was an honour to be chosen by Visa for such a high profile project and thankfully it was a major success for them.

What steps must Dutch users undertake in order to sign up for the 3V mobile payments offering?
Most of our Dutch customers get a 3V card or Voucher directly from www.3Vcard.nl. They can instantly purchase a virtual Visa number using iDeal, or can place an order for a card that will be despatched to them. They can download the free 3V Card money management app at any time. Cards and Voucher can also be purchased in participating convenience stores across the Netherlands.

What user segments does 3V target?
3VTS is an enabler of businesses to target consumers. O2 / Telefonica in Ireland are delighted with the launch of O2 Money. 3VTS are the technology partner behind same. In reality the technology platform can, and is, be used by partners to target any consumer segment. We have some very major corporate clients who use the platform and support service for employee reward and recognition. So we have a very broad range of segments being served.

Is there a minimum monthly transaction value for 3V mobile payment users?
No. We don’t want to lock anyone into obligations like a minimum spend. We aim to make 3V payment products as accessible and convenient as possible and for our customers to use them because they are best suited to their needs, whether they are high spenders who use a 3V prepay card as their main alternative to a traditional credit or debit card, or are occasional or one off virtual product customers who want to make safe online transactions.

How do you ensure that the payment-processing infrastructure behind the service stays both functional and – most importantly – secure?
As a venture backed company we have used a lot of the funds raised to continually invest in our technology. Not just at the front end via mobile phone APs or NFC, but also at the back end building and maintaining best in class transaction processing engines and platform.

How would you characterise the European mobile payments space? What are some of its current key features and what major challenges is the European m-payments ecosystem facing?
As always, but I believe accelerating, the industry is in a period of dramatic change. Domestic debit schemes are breaking up, credit card usage is in decline in key markets, online shopping is growing rapidly, regulators are pushing for change and cross border convergence, new players are entering the market – especially mobile operators, handset makers and indeed new disruptors like Google and Facebook / social media sites. Banks, who had this domain to themselves are handcuffed by legacy systems, regulatory pressure and indeed financial investment constraints. More and more partnerships and JVs are emerging as players look to achieve scale and share the investments needed.

There are 3 keys for m-payments to be successful ; Relevance, Reliability and Price. M-Payments will only make sense to some payment transactions ; high volume low cost. They must be 100% reliable. Consumers and retailers must see a financial as well as convenience benefit – otherwise cash will remain.

In your opinion, what are some of the main trends that are likely to impact the mobile payments business in 2012 and beyond?
The playing field of operators vs. device manufactures vs. disruptors – who will emerge as the dominant force. Note I didn’t say banks.

What are the next steps for your company? Any exciting plans for the future?
We are continuing to deliver innovative programmes for our clients. We have 4 programmes underway with a major scheme. We are deploying a very interesting and exciting NFC wallet in functionality in one of our markets very soon. We have a very exciting project underway with a major client which could be revolutionary in its scale in one of our markets. The challenge for us is to continue to drive forward on the innovation front while deploying successful programmes with our business partners. We are not short on interesting opportunities.