As mobile phone capabilities continue to extend beyond telecom, handset proximity payments is now the industry's new target functionality. ARCchart says that while network operators stand to gain from this technology, these gains can only be maximized if the cellcos become the gatekeeper of proximity applications. By ensuring control of the proximity payment functionality of handsets, subscribers switching to a different service provider will be forced to obtain a new set of payment applications, making the exercise similar to losing a wallet and having to replace all its contents. This is expected to significantly impact churn. Issues of security and control, however, have to be addressed for handset proximity payments to really take off.
Handset Proximity Payments
www.arcchart.com