Joint ventures the key to m-payment success?

Harmony between operators and investors expected to power the platform forward.

Mobile payments continue to be a hot topic. Plenty of companies have apps and mobile optimised websites that accept transactions, while NFC gurus are pushing tap-to-pay functions.

However, for m-payments to really take off, analyst Frost & Sullivan says cohesion and cooperation between telecoms and financial firms is required. Thus, promoting dual brands across multiple industries and ultimately m-payment awareness.

Jayashree Rajagopal, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan, said: "Regional factors such as the level of credit/debit cards usage in a particular country have to be considered when developing alternative payment services aimed at increasing customer adoption.

"The success of m-payment services will largely depend on repeated usage. To achieve that, service providers need to encourage the use of m-payment services through mobile customer relationship management, including mobile vouchers and loyalty cards."

The report continues to say m-payments aren't being rolled out fast enough and that they don't have worthy enough business strategies or customer appeal, which could end up damaging the platform.