Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK have announced plans to create a standalone m-commerce joint venture. It’ll combine the expertise from Orange, T-Mobile, O2 and Vodafone to speed the development and delivery of new mobile marketing and payment services.
Subject to regulatory clearance, the joint venture will provide a single point of contact for advertisers, marketing partners, retailers and banks. It’s aiming to launch by the end of 2011
The three companies say their partnership will deliver the technology required for the speedy adoption of mobile wallets and payments. Each will develop their own competing products and services based on the open platform infrastructure provided by the joint venture.
Ronan Dunne, Chief Executive Officer of Telefonica UK, said “We are seeing an explosion in the m-commerce market. Mobile advertising spend alone has more than doubled in two years as consumers embrace marketing on their handsets because it is now relevant to them and provides a great customer experience. The mobile marketing and payments market is extremely fragmented. By creating this new business we will underpin this nascent market, providing real size and scale, allowing consumers to benefit from new and innovative services, like the mobile wallet, and giving them more of the things they value, through offers and deals that are truly relevant to them. At the same time business customers will reach a vastly increased audience, utilising a single platform for sales, delivery and payment. This is not just something that is unique in the UK, but a Joint Venture that will create a model that many countries around the world could follow.”