The digital revolution continues at pace with global inclusivity as a key outcome. At the centre of this revolution is the mobile device enabling a new form of commerce and changing the way people interact and buy goods and services.
At Accourt we recognise that innovation is a key tenant of any business and we are committed to helping organisations harness and embrace Digital change in a non-disruptive way.
Why Mobile?
More than a decade has passed since we first began talking about the promise of mobile commerce, and we have since seen an untold number of innovative form factors and solutions introduced by both new and established players in the payments industry.
For all of these companies, the singular, driving focus has been on addressing change – the changing industry, technologies, business paradigms and customer needs.
The current key area of innovation and development in financial services and payments is that related to mobile. More specifically, in developed world markets, the smart device (i.e. smartphones and tablets).
These powerful mobile computers are increasingly customers’ preferred mechanism for interaction and transacting; and they have the potential to enable fully integrated experiences for customers across all channels, both offline and online.
Propositions enabled by mobile include mobile wallets, mobile payments, mobile money transfers, targeted offers (including location based), contactless payments (via NFC), account management, loyalty, ticketing, payment acceptance, and so on.
The pace of innovation is unprecedented. And whilst most, if not all, financial institutions are delivering propositions to their customers, so are new players sometimes described as ‘Alternative Payments providers’.
Alternative payment providers incorporates a wide range of some very large, very influential sectors and brands. It also incorporates innovative start-ups and fast-growing disruptors. For example:
- Handset Manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, Apple)
- E-commerce giants (e.g. Apple, Google, Paypal)
- VC backed start ups (e.g. Zapp, Dwolla, Ripple)
- mPOS solution providers (e.g. Square, Intuit, iZettle) – See Accourt MPOS Whitepaper
- Aggregators of multiple new forms of payments (e.g. Boku, Playspan, Zong and many others)
Key questions:
- Into which countries should I launch my product next?
- What changes to my product do I need to make to translate my US product into European requirements?
- With whom should I partner to distribute my services?
- What are the security and other risks implied by opening up the mobile channel? How can I mitigate them?
- How can mobile be leveraged to provide enhanced transaction authentication?
- How do I need to change my operating model to accelerate my product innovation lifecycle?
- How will my customers’ expectations change over the next 2 years?
- What do I need to do to respond to the threats to my core business implied by the innovators?
- Which start-up should I invest in?
- How can I de-risk the integration of the alternative payments business I have just bought? And without damaging its innovative culture?
Why Choose Accourt
We have a team of high calibre individuals who have successfully managed numerous Regulatory and Payment Scheme applications for organisations wishing to apply for full banking, electronic money and PI licences. Our seasoned experts have both the relevant IP, hands-on experience and operational know-how to ensure successful applications.