Mobile Payments : Comparison of Mobile Wallet Concepts

Abstract: Mobile payments are an emerging trend and an alternative to traditional payment methods. Mobile payments involve the usage of the mobile phone to handle credit transfers during purchase of goods and peer to peer money transfers referred to as mobile wallet service, instead of depending on bank cards and cash. In this scenario, while the mobile wallet industry still being in its infancy there exist a few drivers of mobile wallet solutions aiming to create a de-facto standard in the mobile market. The major drivers of mobile wallets can be attributed to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), banks and web based companies.   In this report we would compare the motive behind every driver’s intent to enter the mobile payment market and the challenges associated in providing the wallet service to the market and assimilate the similarities and differences that exist among them. The key technical aspect behind the comparative analysis involves a standard set of factors on which the analysis would be based upon. The results obtained from the comparative analysis emphasizes on the significance behind the origin of industry of each mobile payment driver. The results also enlighten the varied yet partially coinciding objectives of each mobile payment driver.   The approach adopted to conduct this research is primarily through analyzing different origin industry based mobile wallet drivers, and then generalizing the data based on the researched use case models. The comparative analysis performed is based on the generalized data obtained by studying the use case under each mobile payment driver. Further, to predict the future marketing strategy of each driver, ansoff matrix is employed to devise the roadmap. Finally the main objective of the investigation is answered, which is finding out the reasons behind the entry of different industry origin drivers into the mobile payment market and the challenges faced by them.