Yet another mobile-commerce venture is being formed, and this one could have some staying power, according to an analyst familiar with the deal.
CorFire, a mobile-commerce subsidiary of South Korea-based SK C&C, and Atlanta-based InComm Inc. announced June 28 they are teaming up to provide merchants with a branded m-commerce platform complete with a mobile wallet and built-in coupon and rewards functionality.
The platform could come in the form of an application or as a mobile-optimized Web site, depending on the needs of the merchant, representatives from the companies said in interviews. CorFire’s business already is in m-commerce platform development, but this would be the first foray into mobile payments for InComm, a leading provider of gift card and other prepaid services.
InComm’s established relationships with thousands of retailers will set the mobile venture with CorFire apart from others, Jon Squire, CorFire senior vice president of business development and strategy, said in an interview.
“I know there’s a lot of noise (in the m-commerce market), but I think the thing that’s really unique here is the relationships,” he said.
Dustin Young, InComm’s vice president of product strategy, agreed that InComm’s years of building relationships with merchants will differentiate it from companies that focus more on technological developments.
“So [CorFire’s] got the technology to deliver to the handset, and we have the vast integration with merchants,” he said in an interview.
As other m-commerce ventures have done, the companies plan to support Near Field Communication technology as soon as it becomes widely available, Young said. Until then, they intend to use available technology such as barcode scanning, he said.
The companies anticipate a partial rollout in the fourth quarter.
Todd Ablowitz, president of Double Diamond Group, a Centennial, Colo.-based consulting firm, said InComm’s merchant relationships indeed could give the venture more traction than other m-commerce startups.
“It would certainly give them a solid footing and in some ways give them an advantage,” he said.
What do you think about this? Send us your feedback.
