Key Industry Leaders Discuss Payforit Evolution at Dialogue AIME Seminar

Representatives from mobile aggregators, operators, industry bodies and content and service providers, gathered at the Grand Fitzrovia Hotel in London last Thursday (May 21st), to thrash out the growth, evolution and pros and cons of mobile payment initiative, Payforit. Dialogue MD Guiom Peersman, was joined by Rory Maguire of Three, Del Dias of AEI Mobile and AIME representative Andrew Darling, where the hot topics of the night included the growth of web Payforit and its position in relation to more ingrained payment options such as credit cards. There was also analysis of how Payforit has performed over the last two years and what the industry can do to hasten its growth, as well as the question, does everyone actually want Payforit?

Since its inception in 2006, Payforit has seen two major developments as far as Dialogue MD Guiom Peersman is concerned. These include Web Payforit and Single Click, with Web Payforit being targeted as the major initiative for growth in conjunction with the major increase in mobile broadband use, whereas Single click is predominantly aimed at and will be most valuable to, repeat purchasers.

Guiom explained “At our last Payforit seminar in 2007, I predicted that Payforit would dominate m-payments for some time to come, but that it was by no means the finished product. This prediction has been realised with the introduction of Web Payforit and Single Click, however we still have a way to go in reaching our ultimate goal of making Payforit a consistent and recognisable brand for consumers across all WAP sites.”

As well as developments to the initiative itself, Guiom said: “We need to get away from Payforit being seen solely as a mobile content buying solution. The content market has levelled off and with the launch of web payforit new markets are being  identified, such as e-vouchers, CD’s and books, thus widening it’s appeal and providing the consumer with another payment option using mobile billing, but more importantly reaching those buyers who don’t have bank accounts, credit or debit cards.”

Rory Maguire, head of payments services UK at Three, echoed Guiom’s statements: “Mobile services are stuck in a rut, consumers have lost interest and due to the current recession people have cut back on traditional mobile content purchases. This drop in spending then tempts providers towards scams, which invokes increased regulatory pressure.
 
“What is required is the pricing clarity of Payforit, helping to rebuild the consumers trust by providing them with a safe buying environment. Payforit helps define the good from the bad, but growth is limited on pure handset content. I believe Web Payforit will change the game and open up new opportunities as well as protect consumers, it is a mountain of gold that no one has as yet tapped into,” continued Rory.

Design issues were also discussed – there is potential for the Payforit page used during Web Payforit to be designed to fit the look and style of the merchants’ site, therefore making the experience more seamless.

The question of Payforit’s profile amongst consumers was also addressed with Guiom stressing that: “Success depends on promotion of the brand, it needs to be well marketed, and more supported by the industry. Usage growth will be hastened if consumers are aware what Payforit is and why it is a benefit to them”.

In contrast, Rory Maguire said that whilst Payforit promotion was an issue for operators, they do not want to take out billboards and adverts shouting about the initiative and instead would rather let awareness grow through consumer usage, word of mouth and information provided on operator portals and websites.

Del Dias Managing Director at AEI Mobile approached the subject of Payforit from the angle of the music industry discussing how the ring tone craze is now all but over, stressing that for AEI, mobile payments are very much part of the company mix rather than a channel in its own right.

AEI mobile cannot rely on mobile payments alone to sell music due to a number of factors including the sizable royalties that must be paid to record companies to license their music. However they are in fact selling tickets for AEI events via mobile using Payforit which is proving to be more favourable and seeing a high number of tickets purchased.

The question of whether it will be possible for Payforit to extend into other countries was put to the three speakers during the panel discussion. Rory Maguire explained that Three had taken the solution to Australian operators and Payforit has also been met with much enthusiasm in Ireland by content providers, due to the large amount of mobile scams blighting their mobile industry, so much so that the regulatory bodies became unable to cope and unfortunately all content providers were tarred with the same brush in the eyes of the consumer.

Del Dias commented that “Mobile billing is currently in flux, I support Payforit but there are still issues to get over. There is not an immediate solution and time is needed to resolve these matters.

“I also feel that the development process of Payforit has been quite painful and perhaps that is the problem created when competing operators work together on the same project. I am optimistic for the future and for a growth in revenues, but I don’t think these will come solely from mobile, but a convergence of mobile and traditional internet”, said Del.

Guiom concluded the evening by saying that: “Payforit has moved along way in last two years and purchasing over the mobile internet is increasing however it will still take some time to establish the brand. We envisage great opportunities for web Payforit although we are not expecting users to suddenly stop using credit cards and start using Payforit, the process will be more gradual than that. But we believe it is providing a new billing solution for people who can’t use the payment options available to them today.