A relatively unknown Dallas, TX player called Affinity is entering the stakes for mobile financial services with the launch of its MADE platform, which aims to support cash transfers, mobile banking, prepaid cards, mobile payments and air time top-up. In business a little less than a year, Affinity recently picked former T-Mobile USA svp of sales John Carney as chief executive. Affinity joins a field that's recently been heating up with competing approaches to delivering mobile payments, from SIM-card based browsers to dedicated single apps to download clients.
mFoundry and Firethorn have already made significant inroads in winning bank clients, but Accenture is backing Affinity, according to the firm. Mobile industry blogger Paul Ruppert doesn't know Affinity, but is familiar enough with Accenture. "They don't work for free," Ruppert says. "They look for an upfront investment in any joint effort to ensure there's interest and skin in the game." So Affinity goes into the fray with high hopes and a name backer. It's a crowded space, and the big competitors are the banks themselves. Tally ho.
