The total market is growing fast and it is expected that the aggregate size of the market for the four main types of payments will exceed $300bn by 2013.

The transactions starts with the phone user sending a text message or USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) message to an agreed short code telephone number. The required amount to be paid is then added to the pone bill of the user and the merchant is advised of the payment and the goods or services released. In some instances multimedia messages are used to send bar code confirmations which can then be read by the merchant.

This new payment method has come about due to the rapid development of mobile phone technology. With web browsing, e-mailing and specialised operating software, mobile telephones are now akin to portable computers. This technology also enables leapfrog advances to be made in countries with poorly developed traditional payment architectures. Mobile phone technology is relatively cheap to install requiring only transmitters and bandwidths whereas fixed lines require substantial capital spend to install or upgrade.

There is no doubting that the development of these applications alongside a technology hungry user market is revolutionising all areas or mobile communication. The new technologies are easy to use, much more secure, fast and proven through widescale use. As suppliers develop the capability for accepting payments, the market, especially amongst the young, will expand.

The most recent addition is the development of Contactless Near Field Communication. This allows the mobile phone equipped with a smartcard to be used as a payment device in its own right. All that is required is for the phone to be brought near to a reader module for the payment to be authorised. Some transactions also require a PIN making them extra secure. The phone holders pre paid account is debited or the amount charged to a bank account linked with the telephone.

In order to access and fully exploit some of these new services the latest mobile phones are a must buy addition. Amongst the latest arrivals is the Samsung Tocco – a phone typical of the new generation incorporating 8meg camera, e-mail, Bluetooth, HSPDA, memory card slot MP3 played and touchscreen technology. The Ultra edition also includes GPS technology to enable navigation applications to be used.

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we talk to Martin Kearsley, Chief Innovations Officer at VocaLink, about the wide range of initiatives VocaLink is undertaking to offer continued improvements in the UK Payments industry.

Martin discusses these initiatives with Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems, and talks through VocaLink’s innovations in areas such as Remittances, EBPP (Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment), online payments, mobile payments and secure transaction processing.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com. And feel free to leave comments here on the website.

Click here for a full transcript of this podcast

Listen:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we take a look at the Financial Supply Chain with Chris Skinner, Chairman of The Financial Services Club, founder of Balatro, and prolific commentator on all things relating to Banking and Finance.

Chris shares some thoughts with Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems on what corporates really want from their banks, how banks are responding to those challenges, and how well-placed banks are for success in this ever-changing landscape where an increasing number of firms are now offering quasi-banking services.

Chris’s blog is at www.thefinanser.com, where you can also find links to purchase his books “The Future of Banking in a Globalised World” and “The Future of Investing in Europe’s Markets After MiFID”.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com. And feel free to leave comments here on the website.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode

Listen:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we feature an interview with Robert Heisterborg, Global Head of Payments & Cash Management, ING. 

During the 30 minute conversation with Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems, Mr Heisterborg shares his thoughts on a number of payment-related topics, including

• The likely future impacts of SEPA
• The insourcing vs outsourcing argument
• The increasing commoditization of payments processing
• Differentiating payment service propositions and the “value-add”
• Adoption of standards, XML & ISO 20022
• Communication/dialogue between banks and corporates
• The role of SWIFT in relation to corporates

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.

Listen:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we look at the potential impacts that the Single European Payments Area and the Payments Services Directive are likely to have on corporates

Dhiru Tanna, SVP Business Integration (Product Innovations Group) at Bank of America, discusses with Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems how the needs of corporates are likely to change under PSD & SEPA.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode

Listen:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we discuss SEPA and The Payments Services Directive (PSD) with Edith Rigler, Program Director for SEPA, Global Transaction Bank, HSBC, Ruth Wandhofer, SEPA Payments Experts at the European Banking Federation, seconded to the European Payments Council and Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems.

More information about the PSD can be found at the EPC’s website at www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.

Listen:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we look at some of the latest innovations in Card Payments.

William Reid, Vice President of Visa Commercial at Visa International,  explains how card payment systems were born out of innovation in the 1960s and talks with Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems about how future innovation can help address the needs of corporates facing inefficiencies in payments today.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.

Listen:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we look at Card Processing in Europe, and the growth of Prepaid Card Payments.

Peter Jones, Managing Director of PSE Consulting, a research and advisory firm specialising in European Banking and Payments, discusses what the future holds for European Card Payments with Mike O’Hara of Voices in Business and Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.

Listen:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices in Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we look at the rapidly evolving area of Mobile Payments, and how recent advances in mobile telephony are enabling owners of hand-held devices to perform an increasing number of banking and payment functions.

Tim Jones, co-Director of The Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation and former CEO of SimPay and Mondex, talks to Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems and Mike O’Hara of Voices in Business about the challenges and opportunities facing the banks as this technology becomes more and more prevalent.

A PowerPoint presentation to accompany this podcast can be downloaded here.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.

Listen Now:

Welcome to The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices In Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Today, we talk about the combined challenges facing the banking community with the forthcoming introduction of both SEPA (Single European Payments Area) and UK Faster Payments.

Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems puts questions to Jim Ford, Senior Director of Global Product Sales, Global Banking Services, Royal Bank of Scotland about the potential joint impact of these two initiatives, and some of the opportunities they will present to banks and their customers.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, or if there is a particular Payments-related topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, please contact the show’s producer Mike O’Hara at mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode

Listen Now:

Welcome to the introductory episode of The Payments Podcast, brought to you by Voices In Business and sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

In this inaugural episode, Mike O’Hara and Peter Scott discuss the range of Payment-related topics that will be explored with experts from across the Banking industry throughout this series.

Topics such as SEPA, the regulatory landscape, the post-acquisition situation facing many banks, cross-border issues, cards, cheques, micropayments, technology challenges, corporate credit and future payment trends all come under the radar, as Mike and Peter look at some of the major questions facing the industry that will be covered on future programmes.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, if there is a particular topic you would like to hear addressed on a future episode, or if you have specific expertise regarding Payments and would like to be considered as a possible guest yourself, please contact mike@paymentspodcast.com.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode

Listen Now:

The purpose of this fortnighly audio series is to look at the challenges that banks and financial institutions now need to overcome, in light of the three key issues facing the Global Payments Industry:

• How to achieve process efficiency and reduce costs
• How to meet the demands of both the regulatory and the competitive environment
• What kind of service value propositions will lead to increased market share?

Each episode of this podcast series will feature an interview with a recognized thought leader in Payments, offering their own unique insight into these issues.

Join Peter Scott of Sun Microsystems and Mike O’Hara of Voices in Business and listen to The Payments Podcast, to discover the latest thinking on trends, pressures, developments and opportunities in the Global Payments Industry