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Latest mobile payments system goes live, promising to change the way people shop forever

Latest mobile payments system goes live, promising to change the way people shop forever

 

The Mobile Money Network (MMN) has today announced its instant mobile checkout, Simply Tap, is live.

 

Carphone Warehouse, with its partner Best Buy Europe, is one of the first major retailers to integrate Simply Tap into its customer experience, allowing shoppers able to buy directly from Carphone Warehouse advertising, direct marketing, website and buyer’s guide.

 

Thorntons, Goldsmiths, thehut.com, Pretty Green and moreTvicar.com have joined Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy Europe in this launch phase.

 

Together with its first set of retail partners, MMN said it expects to benefit from learning about how real customers will change the way they shop using their mobile. Further major retail partners that MMN is already engaged with will be announced over the coming weeks and months.

 

To celebrate the launch, MMN is offering Simply Tap users £10 cash back on their first purchase of a range of products from its retail partners. The provider said the launch is being supported by a seven-figure marketing campaign that will span social and digital channels with nationwide marketing support from Carphone Warehouse. In addition, from day one, shoppers registering with Simply Tap will get access to a range of offers accessed via the in-app marketing.

 

Adding mobile retail sales

 

Simply Tap requires a customer to go through a one-off registration process to securely capture information such as preferred card details and delivery address. Customers can then use the Simply Tap service on their mobile phones to order products they see anywhere by tapping a code into their mobile phone, saving them time and allowing retailers to maximise sales. Simply Tap is built on the Monitise payments platform.

 

“This initial launch phase is all about gathering as much intelligence as possible,” stated John Milliken, managing director of The Mobile Money Network. “We expect to learn an enormous amount about how consumers want to use their mobiles to shop. We are already developing the second version of the app where you can expect to see image recognition as a major feature.”

 

Andrew Harrison, chief executive of Best Buy Europe and Carphone Warehouse, commented: “Simply Tap will provide retailers with compelling new options when it comes to marketing and selling products. For our customers, it has to be all about convenience. Customers want to be able to pay for goods via any device and on any network. Today is evidence of a shared vision amongst UK retailers and we look forward to our staff and partners being the first in the world to use this genuinely unique service.”

 

Combining best of both worlds

 

Kathryn Middleton, head of brand and customer communications at Thorntons, said: "Thorntons is a true multichannel retailer with 600 stores and franchises, a strong direct business through Thorntons.co.uk, and a thriving commercial business, supplying the major supermarkets. This partnership with The Mobile Money Network expands Thorntons presence in the growing mobile channel, which is a critical part of any retailer's future. Simply Tap is going to make Christmas shopping on the move incredibly easy, so customers can buy their Thorntons chocolates wherever they are."

 

Nick Holland, senior analyst at Yankee Group, added: “Mobile payments are about far more than a financial transaction and this service will enable retailers to capitalise on the fusion of physical and virtual worlds using mobile technology as a conduit. Happier customers and increased revenues – what’s not to like?”

 

Alastair Lukies, Monitise Group chief executive, stated: “It is great to see Simply Tap live. The UK now has a bank-grade, interoperable infrastructure for secure, fast and simple mobile shopping. This will inevitably change the way we pay and shop, just like cash did thousands of years ago, bank cards did 50 years ago and the internet did a decade ago. What seems like an innovation today will be mainstream in a few years time, just as ATMs have become.

 

“The response to Simply Tap and the proposition it offers retailers, media partners, banks and payments companies has been very positive. We have more innovations planned over the coming 12 months, which will revolutionise the way consumers shop via mobile. Consumers choose retailers in the high street by voting with their feet, they will now vote with their fingers and thumbs via Simply Tap too.”