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Mercator reports on European mobile P2P payment models

Friday, October 02, 2015 — 11:20:30 (EDT)

Boston, Oct. 2, 2015 – Around Europe, consumers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices for a broader range of banking and payment functions. More than 50 mobile person-to-person (P2P) payment services have been launched in recent years to capitalize on this changing consumer preference. These systems or services generally have certain characteristics in common, including enabling payments to individuals or businesses, requiring a smartphone, and having a daily transfer limit. Some services in Europe allow customers to opt to make online payments via their mobile device, but most do not enable payment at the physical point of sale (POS) or cash withdrawals at an automated teller machine, and they tend to be limited to one market or select geographies.

Mercator Advisory Group’s latest research note, European Mobile Person-to-Person Payment Systems: A Changing Environment explores four different mobile P2P payment service models—the individual financial institution model, the bank consortium model, payment network/partner model, and alternative provider model—represented in Europe. The key advantages and disadvantages of each are compared and contrasted through specific examples already in operation in Europe including Barclays Pingit, the U.K.’s Paym, and continental services like DnB’s Vipps (Norway) and Italy’s Jiffy, among others.

“The broad range of available service models is likely to persist as organizations attribute different levels of importance to the models’ inherent advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, until consumer adoption of mobile P2P services gains true momentum, consolidation around one model is unlikely. Although future developments around pan-European harmonization of banking and payment systems could lead to a greatly different landscape, it is clear that today the various European mobile P2P payment systems are part of a changing payments environment” comments Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group and the primary author of the note.

Highlights of the note include:

• Overview of different mobile P2P payments service models and the inherent advantages and disadvantages of deploying such models.

• Consideration of the future trends and prospects likely to affect the mobile P2P service models in Europe.

This report contains 12 pages and 5 exhibits.

Companies mentioned in this report include: Barclays, DNB, MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, and mCash.

Members of Mercator Advisory Group’s Global Payments Advisory Servicehave access to these reports as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access, and other membership benefits. Please visit us online at www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com .

For more information and media inquiries, please call Mercator Advisory Group's main line: (781) 419-1700, send e-mail to info@mercatoradvisorygroup.com . For free industry news, opinions, research, company information and more visit us at www.PaymentsJournal.com . Follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/MercatorAdvisor .

About Mercator Advisory Group: Mercator Advisory Group is the leading, independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com .

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Source: Company press release.