A Sybase executive at TechWave 2008 said that mobile commerce is a significant trend that will change the banking and payments landscape, but more inter-industry collaboration is needed.

For mobile commerce to realize its full potential, banks, carriers, payment processors and merchants will have to come together. Sybase 365 is trying to take advantage of an aggregation opportunity to bring the different players together and simplify the user experience.

"The mobile industry has been discussing mobile banking services and mobile payments for more than ten years, and we're finally beginning to see financial institutions fully exploit the potential of mCommerce," said Matthew Talbot, the Singapore-based vice president of mobile commerce for Sybase. "Consumers and corporate clients are demanding easier access to financial services without time, location or device restrictions."

Mr. Talbot cited an Edgar, Dunn & Company report predicting that global mobile commerce revenues will grow to $260 billion by 2010.

Sybase's global mobile banking survey also projects significant growth in that timeframe. It predicts that customers of two-thirds of the top ten banks in the U.S. will have access to mobile banking by the end of 2010 and half of the top 100 banks' customers.

Major U.S. banks that have already introduced mobile banking of some kind include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Chase, Washington Mutual and Citizens Bank.

Sybase's mCommerce services include mBanking and mPayments. The company touts those services as a way for banks and carriers to create new service offerings with the potential to create new revenue streams and cost-saving opportunities.

"For financial institutions, staying competitive means not only meeting customer demands, but doing so in a way that improves their ROI through reduced operational and customer-servicing costs -- and increased revenue," Mr. Talbot said.

"Financial institutions worldwide are seeking banking and payment solutions that make best use of their IT investments, providing interest- and fee-based income opportunities, while strengthening overall service offerings," he said.

Sybase's mCommerce clients include CitiGroup, PayPal, MasterCard, Diners Club International, Citizens Bank, BBVA, Bell Direct, ING Direct, Standard Chartered, Compass Bank and Lufthansa.

"Up to 60 percent of calls to a bank's call center involve an account balance request," Mr. Talbot said. "If a bank moves even a fraction of these calls to the mobile channel, there are clear cost benefits for the bank -- as well as a better customer experience."

Banks are using mobile in conjunction with their existing multi-channel banking strategy to get specific benefits, including service extension, cost savings, security alerts for Internet banking and marketing. Mobile helps them get customer feedback in an easier way, and leads to customer acquisition and retention.

Sybase's mBanking 365 platform is designed to let banks quickly launch simple banking services such as SMS alerts and mature into new channels such as mobile browser or rich-client, or advanced services such as mobile payments and NFC.

Live services supported by Sybase 365 include account alerts, treasury alerts, marketing PUSH campaigns, marketing two-way campaigns, call center PIN delivery, card services and alerts, dispute resolution closures, two-way SMS loan process, SMS to call center and ATM search. The mobile wallet is not far off, either.

Mr. Talbot discussed Sybase 365's broader strategy for mCommerce beyond mobile banking. He detailing several emerging categories of mobile commerce.

Remote mobile commerce involves buying goods and services remotely via the Internet or SMS, while physical mobile commerce involves buying at the point-of-sale with a mobile device via SMS or a contactless reader.

P2P remittances allow the transfer of funds between consumers via their handsets. The official remittance market today is worth $250 billion.

Top up of a mobile prepaid account lets consumers reload their mobile phone virtually using a credit or debit card or at a store location via a scratch card, POSA or kiosk.

Mobile bill payment lets a person use their handset to transfer funds to a business.

"Consumers will purchase digital and non-digital goods and services via their mobiles, and mCommerce will penetrate the market more broadly and quicker than eCommerce," Mr. Talbot said. "The 'enablers' -- hardware, software, network and services suppliers, including Sybase -- will get the lion's share of the pie."

In this emerging sector, a multi-channel approach that includes SMS, WAP, Java/Brew and smart client is vital.

"As banks and carriers expand their portfolio of mobile products and services, they will need to break out of the single channel approach and offer services via multiple channels to address both the limitations and reach of a particular channel, balanced against consumer preference and confidence in individual modes of access," Mr. Talbot said.

The biggest obstacle to mobile commerce becoming omnipresent is the lack of collaboration between carriers and various financial services companies.

These include traditional banks, established niche players such as Western Union and PayPal, behemoth payment brands such as Visa and MasterCard and relatively young startups such as Firethorn, Bango and Tyfone that are angling for third-party middleman space.

Points of friction include ownership and branding of the customer relationship for mobile payments, revenue sharing, deciding which party should be responsible for bearing payment risks, security and reach.

"It is inevitable that the world evolves from an e-business or Web model to a m-business or mobile browsing model," Mr. Talbot said. "The removal of service limitations, economic issues and technology issues imposed by a single-channel approach will undoubtedly mean rapid growth for mCommerce."