Mi-Pay enthuses over prospects

Marking its fifth anniversary, UK-based mobile payments services provider Mi-Pay has put out a strong positive message on the mobile channel’s future, emphasising that, while global recession has left its mark on many industries, it has also acted as a catalyst for mobile-based financial service adoption.

“As banks, service providers and mobile operators seek to overcome economic challenges, drive more efficient infrastructure and create stickier services for larger groups of customers, many are now turning to mobile payments, remittances and top-up to boost reach, fuel demand and renew customer loyalty,” said CEO Norman Frankel.

“As a result we predict that the next five years will see mobile money shift from being a niche service to a viable mass market proposition with widespread global adoption.”

Following its entry into the mobile payments market in September 2004, Mi-Pay began by integrating mobile functionality with payments and other financial services. Shortly after, Mi-Pay began offering mobile phone top-up switching services, gaining as its first international client, European mobile network operator (MNO) KPN Telfort.

In 2005 Mi-Pay initiated a key strategic move with formation of Digital Payments, a joint venture with payment card specialist Retail Decisions and UK payments processor Voca, now part of VocaLink. Focused on the UK mobile phone top-up market Digital Payments has achieved significant success garnering major clients such as retailers Carphone Warehouse and Tesco and MNO Vodafone.

Building on its success Mi-Pay went on to expand its reach to include the Middle East and Africa and today lays claim to ranking in the world’s top 10 mobile money providers. While domestic and international top-up remains a core part of Mi-Pay’s business, it is also involved in mobile banking and mobile money transfer deployments.

In Mi-Pay’s sights is a market many research firms predict is set to see explosive growth.

However, the mobile market is not all plain sailing, warned Frankel.

“This is a complex, technically challenging and heavily regulated environment; fraught with difficulties for uninitiated players seeking fast rewards,” he stressed.