INTERVIEW: Mobile Money Network's John Milliken

After registering, when a consumer sees a product they want in store, online or in any advert, they type the product code into the Simply Tap app or send it via SMS to pay via the saved details.

For an industry that's worked itself into a jelly mould over NFC, this might all seem a bit old-school.

But its backers would argue that Simply Tap just works, and uses existing tech to do so.

Moreover, it has three juggernauts behind it – Best Buy Europe,  Carphone Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone and the mobile money enabler Monitise.

The fact that it recently made M&S boss Stuart Rose as non-executive chairman can only help to grab the attention of UK High Street too.

Intrigued? We were. Which is why we sat down with John Milliken, MD of Mobile Money Network, to find out more.

The Mobile payments space is all the rage right now. What makes Simply Tap different from the other solutions?

I think the main thing is that it's agnostic – of operators, banks, handset makers. Retailers have been lukewarm about mobile payments before because of the lack of openness, which is why the market has mainly been about mobile goods and digital items rather than physical goods.

So how do you anticipate Simply Tap will be used?

Firstly, in traditional print advertising and in-store.

So what need are you meeting there?

With print media, I think we're giving publishers a potentially significant new revenue opportunity. Let's say a fashion mag wants to publish a '50 best jeans' article, it now has a way to support the sale of those products – and take a revenue share – while giving readers the chance to 'buy now'. We're looking at ways to enable these arrangements between brands and media firms, and we can share metrics back so they can find out more about their readers.

Eeek. What about the line between editorial?

We'll leave that for the publishers to worry about!

If a shopper is already out and about why would they choose to pay by mobile?

It could be a number of reasons. Could be an item that's out of stock, or too cumbersome to carry home, could be a long queue... Whatever, it represents a good opportunity for retailers to capture potentially lost sales. And our systems are tied into the retailers' back-ends so we know stock levels and so on.

How are negotiations going?

We're talking to three retailers about codes on physical items in time for a summer launch. They're in electronics and clothes. Overall, we've spoken to 40 retailers and only one has told us outright they're not interested.

How does the system work from a consumer point of view?

They sign up once, giving their phone number and assigned credit or debit cards, and a billing address. From then on, when they see the Simply Tap sign they know that can tap in or scan the code and order straight from their handset. When they do, they get a text and an email confirming their order  – which acts like a receipt. Our system collects the payments and pays the retailer. Having Monitise as a backer means we can be confident that the system is secure and scalable.

You said 'tap or scan' there. What options are there for entering the code?

We're building in different options, so that the codes can be published as a series of four to eight digits or as a barcode or even image and audio recognition.

Does Simply Tap require an app?

No, it works with SMS as well. But it does function better with an app – especially when there are variables in the purchase like size, colour and so on. Users can set their own preferences on an app too, and we're keen to give as much control to users as possible.

What do you think of NFC?

I think it will be best for information rather than payments in the near term. There are a lot of barriers at the moment.

Would you incorporate operator billing into Simply Tap?

Well, the revenue shares are just not feasible at present. And with retail, margins are too tight for pay by mobile to present an alternative.