Smartcard vendor Giesecke & Devrient believes it has cracked the mobile payment conundrum with a new NFC-based mobile wallet product.
The firm is launching SmartTrust Portigo, which combines the payment functionality of debit and credit cards with ID, loyalty, public transport and building access key cards. It is pitching the mixed service as a new opportunity for mobile operators and banks, and predicts the service will replace consumer’s traditional wallets.
Klaus Vedder, group senior vice president at Giesecke & Devrient, says the service will be easy to use, and will enable carriers and banks “to develop new mobile services as part of their individual brand strategies.”
Research firm Berg Insight this week predicted a bright future for mobile payment services, forecasting that the total value of mobile money transactions will grow from $44 billion (€33.8 billion) in 2011 to $395 billion in 2017. However, that growth is likely to be fuelled by emerging markets rather than developed, because mobile money services are an attractive proposition for unbanked consumers.