A Study of Mobile Wallet Business Model Development in Sweden

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to examine and develop knowledge of how business models are being developed in an industry undergoing a technological shift, as exemplified by the introduction of the mobile wallet, and considering the perspective of different market actors related to the provision of such services in Sweden.In order to study mobile wallet business development, a qualitative research has been performed by conducting in-depth interviews with selected Swedish market players. A comparative multiple case study was constructed from the data obtained in order to contrast and compare the behaviour of different market actors.The case study has shown that few of the market players seem to internalize the difference between the mobile wallet and mobile payments; although most of them agree that the mobile wallet is meant to provide more than just a payment function. The resulting focus on mobile payments rather than extended functionality of a mobile wallet seems to narrow down the perspective of business model development. Still, a lot of experimentation with mobile wallet business models is taking place. Further study results illustrate that the market offering of a mobile wallet service can be defined as a spectrum ranging from a strategic priority to yet another channel for reaching the consumer. From a technology point of view, there is no consensus on what the leading technology should be, ranging from a belief in NFC to an investment in developing other technologies or supporting multiple technologies at once. Highly interconnected network architecture reflects the collaborative aspect of mobile wallet business models; however, a lack of standards makes cooperation complicated. Lastly, there seems to be a lack of knowledge of monetizing mobile wallet services, as demonstrated by the uncertainty of revenue models.