IBM has announced a new partnership with mobile payments firm Monitise as it looks to benefit from the growing rate of commerce carried out on smartphones.
Under the terms of the deal, labelled as a "Global Strategic Alliance" between the two companies, Monitise will work on furthering the development and implementation of IBM’s existing MobileFirst cloud-based mobile commerce tools, which are already widely used in the financial services and retail industries.
Under the terms of the deal, Monitise will move its production hosting and cloud requirements to IBM as the two companies work together as an IBM Global Business Services’ initiative. Following the news of the deal, shares in Monitise jumped 4.1% to close up at 44p.
The partnership continues the work that the two companies did last year in helping Visa Europe make it easier for its 3,000-plus member banks across 36 countries to accept payments via mobile banking and payments.
Monitise also set up a similar cloud-based mobile money platform in China last December which allows users to top up pre-paid SIM cards with payment taken direct from their bank account instead of purchasing vouchers from shops.
BM senior VP Steve Mills, said: "As the market for mobile payments is expanding, we are continuing to invest in the IBM MobileFirst portfolio to address this opportunity. The combination of our capabilities with Monitise will provide value to our clients, enhance the customer experience and drive business growth."
Monitise currently has 30 million registered consumers around the world, accounting for $88bn of payments, purchases and transfers annually.
Monitise chief executive Alastair Lukies, said: "Mobile is increasingly becoming the primary way for us to bank, pay and buy. Central to our strategy and collaborations is a drive to enable the businesses we work with to adopt solutions that help them engage more effectively with existing customers and unlock new commercial opportunities.
"At a time when money is becoming more digitised, this strategic alliance with IBM will support financial institutions across the world in developing effective cloud-based strategies that make a real difference to consumers’ lives."
