New mobile payment system Zapp has announced the support ofa large coalition of retailers, including some of the UK’s leading supermarketchains, department stores, travel agencies and charities. Originally scheduledfor launch later this year, Zapp is now scheduled to be deployed in 2015 with fivemajor financial institutions (HSBC, first direct, Nationwide, Santander andMetro Bank) committed to embedding Zapp within their mobile banking and tabletapplications, bringing the technology to their 18 million customers.
Commenting on the announcement, Peter Keenan, chiefexecutive of Zapp said, “At last the promise of a truly mobile and digitalpayment method will become a reality, meaning easier and more secure checkoutsfor millions. It’s amazing to have the support of such well known retailers.Together with our other partners this means millions of consumers will be ableto shop at tens of thousands of merchants up and down the UK at launch.”
Zapp which runs on the UK’s Faster Payments system runsacross all financial institutions and could represent the best mechanism toboost mobile payment use in the UK in the near future. By winning retailersupport, Zapp is well positioned to succeed where other previous mobile paymentsystems have failed. While the delays are unfortunate for Zapp, the news isundoubtedly positive and momentum can only further grow before its launch in2015.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, International Advisory Service for Mercator Advisory Group
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