Visa Tests "Near Field" Enabled Mobile Phones In Taiwan

Nokia Oyj, the world's largest mobile phone maker, and Chunghwa Telecom Co will test technology that allows subscribers to use their handsets as Visa Inc payment cards.

Visa International is partnering with Chunghwa Telecom, Chinatrust Commercial Bank (CTCB) and Nokia to launch a landmark trial in Taiwan showcasing a feature-rich implementation of the Visa mobile platform.

The trial will bring together near field communication (NFC)-enabled mobile phones, over-the-air (OTA) personalization, Visa payWave contactless payments and merchant direct marketing offers sent to the phone.

Gordon Cooper, regional head, mobile payment, Visa International, Asia Pacific, said the public trial was a natural progression for contactless payments in Taiwan, the leading Visa payWave contactless market in the Asia Pacific, reports ad.hoc.news on September 19, 2007.

The six-month trial involves 500 Chunghwa Telecom Call Call co-brand cardholders using NFC-enabled Nokia 6131i handsets to make contactless payments at any of the 3,000 stores that accept Visa payWave contactless cards in Taiwan.

Mr Luo Lian-fu, Chairman of Chinatrust Commercial Bank, said the public trial built on the experience the bank and Taiwanese cardholders had gained from Visa payWave and would provide important lessons for delivering services that centered on consumers' mobile lifestyles, reports Cellular News on September 19, 2007.

This year (2007), Taiwan is predicted to be a hot spot for mobile payment innovation. As the latest Taiwan mobile penetration rates indicate, the mobile phone has become a daily necessity and an indispensable part of people's lives. Mr Ho-Chen Tan, Chairman of Chunghwa Telecom, said, “the public trial was important, as it would illustrate how payment could be personalized on mobile devices," reports Cellular News on September 19, 2007.

Consumers will be able to obtain merchant offers by pre-registering their preferences to receive certain types of coupons or by holding their phone up to special posters located in popular shopping areas, thereby triggering on-demand download of specific merchant offers. On-demand offers are supported through the use of posters and other media embedded with NFC tags. All offers are stored in the graphics-rich software application that manages the Visa payWave payment on the Nokia handset.

With more than 1.4 million Visa contactless cards in Taiwan, cardholders are aware of the speed, security and convenience that contactless payment delivers. According to Cooper by incorporating mobile offers into this trial we will test the potential of the mobile device to deliver value-added services that complement the convenience of the Visa payWave contactless payment service."

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/26139.php

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2007/09/20/2003379648

http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/CorporateNews/en/13336840/Visa-Announces-Landmark-Public-Trial-of-Visa-Mobile-Platform

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Nokia buys mobile advertiser Enpocket

Nokia on Monday [September 17, 2007] said it had agreed to acquire Boston-based mobile advertising start-up Enpocket, in a move analysts said could put considerable pressure on wireless carriers.

Nokia announced on Monday [September 17, 2007] that it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Enpocket, whose technology platform and business partnerships Nokia expects will allow it to rev up its products and services in mobile advertising, a market poised for robust growth.

Enpocket is a privately owned company, established in 2001 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The innovative technology that drives the Enpocket platform is a mobile advertising campaign management and delivery system distinguished by advanced consumer insight, targeting, and measurement.

Nokia said the purchase will speed its push into mobile advertising by capitalizing on Enpocket's technology and relationships. Nokia is seeking to get a share of the mobile ad market, dominated by Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. Global sales are estimated to rise to US$11.4 billion by 2011 from US$2.17 billion currently, according to Informa Telecoms & Media Group.

"This acquisition is a game changing move to bring the reach and depth of Nokia to organize the market across the world, and make it easier for an ecosystem to develop," said Tero Ojanpera, Chief Technology Officer, Nokia, in a statement, as per the news published by PRNewswire on September 17, 2007.

Last week [2^nd week of September 2007], The Kelsey Group predicted that spending on mobile search and display advertising in the U.S. will hit $33.2 million this year and grow at a compound annual rate of 112 percent through 2012, when it will total $1.4 billion. Kelsey Group also expects the number of mobile Internet users to grow at a 20 percent compound annual clip in the U.S. through 2012, when there will be almost 92 million people going online via their cell phones.

Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, suggested that Nokia's purchase of the Boston-based company made sense, as per the news published by IT WEEk on September 17, 2007. "Enpocket is a good catch for Nokia," she said. "It is a well established mobile advertising specialist and one of the stronger players in an increasingly competitive and consolidating market."

The deal is the latest in a series of mobile advertising deals in the area. In May 2007, AOL LLC bought Boston mobile advertising network developer Third Screen Media Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/17/Nokia-buys-mobile-advertising-company_1.html

http://www.redherring.com/Home/22805

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2184036,00.asp

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http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/09/17/daily8.html

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/LNM01717092007-1.htm

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/2007/09/18/123081/Nokia-agrees.htm

http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2198859/nokia-buys-mobile-advertiser