Microsoft and M-Com have introduced an offering, BankAnywhere that provides banks and payment processors with mobile payments functionality. Using Microsoft technologies, M-Com BankAnywhere offers a payments service, which provides security and risk management capabilities, ensuring that banks can manage the exposure of their brands and services in the emerging market for mobile technology.
The companies claim that the service reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the mobile channel for banks. M-Com supports BankAnywhere across the globe and utilises Microsoft technology, including Windows and Microsoft SQL Server, and Internet Information Services (IIS), that allows enterprise users of BankAnywhere to benefit from existing technology management tools and practices.
Financial institutions, facing declining revenue from traditional credit cards, are looking to use mobile payments to replace cash-dominated lower value payments to generate new revenue streams. This is important for banks and retailers, as cash handling is both expensive and a security risk, said Microsoft.
According to the companies, BankAnywhere delivers: new revenue opportunities from payment and value-added transactions, cost elimination through the ability to move customers to lower-cost, self-service channels, differentiation and control over the bank’s mobile channel and the user experience they provide to customers.
Susan Hauser, vice president of worldwide financial services at Microsoft, said: “Today’s announcement underscores our efforts to provide multichannel integration that allows financial institutions to benefit from mobile and new media channels as part of the overall connected experience.
Our alliance with M-Com expands our partner ecosystem for payments and mobile solutions and further validates our leadership position as a provider of payment processing platforms.”
Adam Clark, CEO of M-Com, said: “It is clear that consumers in Asia and around the world have an insatiable demand for mobile financial services, especially payment transactions. Banks must engage their customers and prospects in the mobile channel in the short term to ensure they profit from sustainable revenues and key customer segments that are adopting these services.”
