Citation
(2003), "Mobile transactions", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952daf.004
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Mobile transactions
Mobile transactions
Laptop makers, cellphone suppliers, PDA people, they all want to own the next generation of mobile transaction. However, apart from relatively minor transactions (such as the downloading of ring tones), the public is still wary of trusting significant sums of money to the wireless environment. The suppliers – and especially their software and service partners – have to convince that wary public that mobile security can be trusted.
The operators are experimenting with a variety of ways in which they can take money of us. Some are particularly suitable for small sums of money – seen as particularly important in generating large revenues through mass usage. Of course the device used to make a particular transaction does not have to carry out the whole process. Some operators are experimenting with systems whereby credit card details are first logged with a secure server on the Web – and some form of "token" is used on a mobile phone to make reference to that pre-existing account. Others recognise that we already have a billing system – the mobile phone bill itself – and transactions can simply be added to our phone bill. For larger, one-off sums, some operators have created self-standing gateways that are separate from the Internet and thus inherently much safer.
All of these may, of course, end up being used alongside one another – or there may be a solution waiting in the wings that will sweep them all aside. The banks, for example, are unlikely to give up the fight easily. They see themselves as the natural vehicle for the transfer of money – and have an appropriate infrastructure in place.
If you wish to move ahead with your own mobile transaction system, it is wise not to invest too heavily in any one technology – but perhaps to use a third party service collecting money on your behalf. Though this will cost you, it will keep open your options as different, perhaps more appropriate – or simply more widely accepted – ways of extracting money from your mobile customers come along.