Mobile Payment Forum Announces New Activities - Introduces 2003 Board of Directors: Holds Educational Seminar in Conjunction With Spring Plenary
WAKEFIELD, MA (ots)
At its spring plenary, held on March 26 in Dublin, Ireland, the Mobile Payment Forum, a global cross-industry alliance of key organizations from the mobile and financial industries dedicated to the advancement of mobile (m) commerce, announced new activities in the areas of third party authentication, digital transaction records and consumer usability. The Forum's new activities were approved last month by its board of directors and include:
- Third party authentication -- This activity will define mechanisms for third party authentication that meet common requirements from mobile network operators and financial institutions.
- Digital transaction records -- This activity will develop guidelines for the production of a detailed digital transaction record to track personal and business transactions.
- Usability of mobile payment services -- A new task force established to ensure consumer usability is adequately addressed in the Forum's existing activities.
The new activities, in addition to the existing work being done by the Forum in the areas of two-way messaging, form-fill, and personalization of multi-application devices for mobile payment, further support the Forum's goal of standardizing the enabling technologies necessary for simple, secure, and convenient mobile payments.
The Mobile Payment Forum also announced the election of its 2003 board of directors. This year's board is comprised of representatives from 3 (formerly Hutchison 3G), American Express Company, JCB Co., Ltd., MasterCard International, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Oracle Corporation, Orange World, Telecom Italia Mobile, T-Mobile International, Visa International and Vodafone. As board members, these organizations will set the strategic direction for the Forum in its efforts to overcome barriers to the widespread adoption of m-payments and ensure the needs of all key industry segments are addressed.
The organization's plenary and public seminar on mobile payments drew more than 100 attendees from 16 countries. Among the attendees were representatives from new principal members: iPIN, NEC, Siemens AG, and Sprint.
"The strong interest exhibited by participants in the Forum's spring plenary and seminar is a solid indication of the strategic role m-commerce continues to represent to many key industry segments," said Alessandra Dell'Otti, Steering Group Chair of the Mobile Payment Forum. "The Forum recognizes the importance of industry cooperation and an open dialogue amongst key players to address the challenges that inhibit the widespread deployment of mobile payments. It's apparent from the attendance at our first public event that many others support this belief."
The Mobile Payment Seminar, which was co-sponsored by Network365, included remarks from Ireland's Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Mary Harney, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Philippe Lefevre, Directorate, General Information Society eBusiness, Financial Systems, Head of Sector, European Commission; and keynote speaker Ed Kountz, Senior Analyst for Emerging Technology Solutions, Tower Group. Collectively, the presenters provided a cohesive view of regional and global m-commerce challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Mr. Kountz stated that to achieve the goal of "any time, any where" mobile payments, standards, as well as clear benefits and results, must be established across the value chain, including for merchants, operators, financial institutions and consumers. He credited the MPF with being one of the top organizations making progress in this area.
The group will hold its next plenary meeting October 21-23, 2003. Details will be posted on the group's public Web site: www.mobilepaymentforum.org. Membership in the Forum is tiered, allowing interested parties to join as either Principal or Associate members. Any organization with an interest in facilitating secure m-commerce is eligible to join. About the Mobile Payment Forum The Mobile Payment Forum brings together leading organizations from the mobile and financial industries to create a foundation for standardized, secure and authenticated mobile payments. Founders American Express Company, JCB Co., Ltd., MasterCard International and Visa International all bring extensive experience in creating interoperable global payment standards and specifications and a knowledge of payments in emerging channels. Membership includes key financial institutions, telecommunications operators, wireless- device manufacturers, merchants, content providers and software and hardware developers and vendors. The Mobile Payment Forum is a non-profit membership organization, incorporated in the state of Delaware in the United States.
For further information, visit the Mobile Payment Forum Web site at www.mobilepaymentforum.org.
Contact:
Margot Rodger
Mobile Payment Forum
Phone: +1/781-876-6299
E-Mail: pressoffice@mobilepaymentforum.org
Denise Snyder
Mobile Payment Forum
Phone: +1/781-876-8840
E-Mail: membership@mobilepaymentforum.org