McKinsey: Asia Needs M-Payment Solutions
With wireless users in Asia being more concerned about online security, than their Western counterparts, McKinsey suggests that operators allow consumers to add purchases to a monthly phone bill. McKinsey believes this approach would "stimulate rapid growth in online [wireless] transactions", while obviating the need to send credit card details over potentially insecure wireless networks. Either way, with consumers in Malaysia and Thailand likely to use the wireless
Web in lieu of the wired Internet, McKinsey predicts mobile shopping to match that of its wired equivalent, and to create a need for new payment solutions.Most Asian consumers shopping wirelessly would prefer to fund purchases through a monthly phone bill, or cash-on-delivery, according to McKinsey's interviews with 100 cell phone users in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Singapore has the greatest potential for mCommerce, with 12 per cent of respondents already shopping on the wired Internet, and 13 per cent ranking mobile shopping in their top 3 mobile services. Thailand is next, with 13 per cent of respondents buying online, versus 8 per cent who would shop wirelessly, with Malaysia third, at 19 per cent buying online, against 7 per cent, respectively.
McKinsey identified solid demand for wireless services, with 57 per cent of respondents likely to use wireless services for Internet access, mCommerce purchases information, and e-mail. At present, the ability to shop wirelessly, is not one of the top three mobile services users want, but McKinsey believes "consumers are becoming interested in using handsets to shop online". With 50 per cent of respondents prepared to switch operators to access mobile data services, McKinsey tells operators "there is an advantage in being the first company to offer wireless data services [such as shopping] in the countries surveyed".Related Links
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