OXFORD, United Kingdom—Recent efforts by European mobile operators to offer financial services looks set to lead to a clash with the global banking community. Most of Europe’s large operators have already launched, or will shortly do so, m-banking or e-wallet services in an effort to grab a share of the profitable payments arena, said to be worth up e100 billion (US$91.9 billion) in revenues by 2008.
While some observers claim that mobile operators have gained an early advantage, mainly due to the banking community’s inactivity, an increasing number of banks are now hurriedly drafting plans for mobile payment services. According to an industry analyst, cell-phone operators have been misguided in thinking that they could handle payments themselves.
“Financial institutions are clearly better at managing credit risk and transactions. While cell phones will be an important factor in m-commerce, it is of utmost importance that banks and telecoms cooperate,” the analyst said.
