Sybase 365, a mobile messaging service that is a part of Sybase Inc., is looking forward to the convergence of mobile banking and mobile payments in the next 12 months for mobile commerce to take off.

As the value of mobile transactions increase, integration into the banking system will follow, per the company. Banks currently take the lead in mobile banking and wireless carriers have control over mobile payments.

"Mcommerce clearly requires the best of both sides to come together to be successful," said Matthew Talbot, Sybase 365 vice president of mcommerce, Chantilly, VA.

Mobile commerce is challenged with issues such as technology constraints, local regulations and a lack of cooperation between carriers and banks in individual countries and around the world.

"Banks need to have connectivity to the mobile operators to provide a multi-modal offering including SMS, WAP and a Java client solution to target 100 percent of customers," Mr. Talbot said.

Sybase 365 offers remote mobile payments via SMS, MMS and WAP to content providers and brands. The charges appear on the consumer's bill through their mobile operator.

In October, Sybase 365 launched Sybase mBanking 365, a product for the financial services industry to let banks interact with customers in real-time through mobile alerts, two-way banking services, out-of-bank authentication and marketing campaigns.

The product also offers a natural language capability called Answers 365 to let consumers interact with their bank using their own words, Sybase claims.

Sybase 365 recently entered into a partnership with Utiba Pte Ltd. for opportunities linked to the selling and support of managed mobile commerce services to carriers and financial institutions. This would take advantage of Utiba's mobile top-up and mobile wallet.

Last month Sybase 365 partnered with C-SAM, a secure mobile phone-based transaction technology, to extend its mobile banking offering to include a downloadable Java and near-field communications-compatible client. Banks worldwide can now offer mobile banking services through SMS, WAP and a downloadable client.

A recent survey poll of some of the world's largest financial institutions showed enthusiasm for mobile banking.

Sixty-six percent of respondents said mobile banking provides an excellent opportunity to enhance existing customer services. In terms of growth, more than half of the banks interviewed will offer mobile services in the next 12 to 24 months.

Bank of America is one of the leaders in the mobile banking space in the United States, with more than 500,000 mobile customers (see story). Mobile is also getting major airtime in a $70 million campaign that Chase is running this year to push Chase Mobile and its texting service (see story).

However, central to mobile banking and payment adoption and usage is finding a balance of security, cost and customer convenience, according to a recent TowerGroup study (see story).

Sybase 365's goal is to bridge the gap between mobile banking and mobile payments and be the intermediary to scale mobile commerce worldwide. The company claims it processes more than 100 billion messages per year and reaches more than 700 carriers and 2.4 billion subscribers around the world.

"By bringing together banking and payments on a mobile device, there is an opportunity to handle micro payments and bring a significant portion of the un-banked into a banking experience," Mr. Talbot said.

"Mobile-based payment solutions also lower the cost of infrastructure required to roll out payment alternatives to cash in emerging markets where mobile penetration is far superior to the Internet," he said.