Drop Your Credit Cards
Alcatel-Lucent makes a virtual pocketbook.
Courtesy Alcatel-Lucent
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Fueled by growing interest from young consumers, Alcatel-Lucent’s (NYSE, NYSE Euronext: ALU) Mobile Wallet Service is transforming mobile phones and other devices into versatile pocketbooks. “The Mobile Wallet can blur the boundaries between e-commerce and physical commerce in a way that enables compelling new experiences for both consumers and merchants,” says Anthony Belpaire, general manager of the Mobile Wallet Service, which recently won the Best of 4G award in the Best Mobile Commerce Solution category at 4G World.
Using a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (or SaaS) model and smartphone GPS location data, Belpaire says, the Mobile Wallet Service lets participating merchants send special offers to subscribers in the vicinity of a store. When registering for the service, consumers can load their credit-card information into their Mobile Wallet and simply swipe their phones at in-store payment terminals.
Mobile network operators can offer their own payment options, which, Belpaire explains, appeals especially to students who might not qualify for credit cards. “We see lots of interest in launching digi-cash and e-cash services, which allows people to pay with a prepaid type of service,” he says. In an Alcatel-Lucent survey, 80 percent of teens and young adults reported interest in replacing their physical wallet with their mobile phone.
