Wireless commerce: reducing technical and commercial barriers

Banks are the natural 'franchise' holder for marry payment instruments; however mobile network operators hold a franchise over services and capabilities delivered within their infrastructure environment. While there is bank-operator tension about 'ownership' of the customer in the above context, understanding the underlying causes of these tensions helps to identify a path for merging the capabilities of both sectors for the mutual benefit of both industries and subscribers. This paper discusses some of the technical and commercial issues and proposes technical solutions that directly address many issues with the intent of removing or reducing barriers to discussion and agreement on the remaining issues. Issues in mobile phone networks and bank payments networks that have caused technical and commercial difficulties and tensions among some participants are also discussed.