Mobile Money Network has landed a major retailer to participate in the initial phase of a mobile-payment software application launch that will enable United Kingdom consumers to purchase products for home delivery from any location by typing a product code into their phones, the London-based mobile commerce company announced Nov. 4.
Carphone Warehouse, a mobile-phone company affiliated with Best Buy Europe Inc., will offer Simply Tap, which enables customers to use their phones to buy directly from the company’s advertisements, catalogs, website or direct-marketing pieces, Mobile Money Network stated.
The Simply Tap announcement came two days before Carphone Warehouse revealed its intention to close 11 of its Best Buy Europe stores, potentially giving the Simply Tap option more attention because of its out-of-store purchasing features. Carphone Warehouse joins Thorntons PLC, Goldsmiths Inc., Pretty Green Ltd. and thehut.com in offering Simply Tap.
Mobile Money Network developed Simply Tap for use on Apple Inc. iPhones and Google Inc. Android phones in a joint venture with Monitise PLC, a London-based mobile payment technology provider (
Consumers register for Simply Tap through the Apple or Android app stores and provide payment card and home address delivery information. Retailers who have signed on to offer Simply Tap provide Mobile Money Network with a code [a mix of numerals and letters] for their products and display those codes in advertisements, billboards, catalogs, direct marketing pieces and in stores, according to the Mobile Money Network website.
The consumer may purchase a product by typing the code into the Simply Tap application using his mobile phone keyboard and tapping a “buy” button for home delivery, the company states.
Mobile Money Network executives view the first phase of the Simply Tap launch as an opportunity to learn about consumer buying habits. Each transaction will provide information about the advertising source the consumer chose to make the purchase.
“We expect to learn an enormous amount about how consumers want to use their mobile phones to shop,” John Milliken, Mobile Money Network managing director, stated in a company press release. “We are already developing a second version of the app where you can expect to see image recognition as a major feature.”
Carphone Warehouse stresses customer convenience with Simply Tap because the payment method accepts all card brands and payment networks, company CEO Andrew Harrison said in the release.
Mobile Money Network did not disclose details on how much merchants pay per Simply Tap transaction.
Industry analyst Zil Bareisis suggests Simply Tap has positive attributes, but it may not be as simple to use as Mobile Money Network hopes.
“I can see this working for billboards, posters, print advertising and TV ads, where the customer spots the code and uses it to buy the goods,” Bareisis, a London-based senior analyst for research firm Celent, tells PaymentsSource.
More importantly, significant United Kingdom investors support Simply Tap, which operates on a proven technology platform that Monitise uses for mobile banking, Bareisis says.
However, the name may be a misnomer because the process is not as simple as the Google Wallet “single tap” process of tapping a phone against a point-of-sale terminal, Bareisis suggests.
Simply Tap users must locate the product code and type it in using the phone’s keyboard. They also still have to pull out a credit card to get the card’s three-digit security code, which they also enter using the phone’s keyboard, Bareisis says.
Customers shopping inside of a store may not find Simply Tap useful, except when purchasing larger items they prefer delivered directly to their homes instead of carrying them out of the store, he adds.
Bareisis suggests the launch may be off to a slow start, saying he could not find product codes on the websites of participating merchants shortly after the launch announcement.
Still, Kathryn Middleton, an executive with Thorntons Inc., a chocolate goods manufacturer using Simply Tap, believes the timing is ideal for a mobile-pay option.
“Simply Tap is going to make Christmas shopping on the move incredibly easy, so customers can buy their Thorntons chocolates wherever they are,” Middleton, Thorntons head of brand and customer communications, stated in the press release.
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