7th Mar 2012 07:00
7 March 2012
Monitise welcomes Visa Europe's Mobile Money Network investment
LONDON - Monitise plc (LSE: MONI) welcomes the announcement that Visa Europe intends to take a 15% stake in its joint venture, the Mobile Money Network (MMN), the UK's leading enabler of mobile commerce and payments services for retailers.
MMN, with its Simply Tap instant mobile checkout service, is powered by the Monitise Enterprise Platform. The network is working with a large number of retailers as it brings together banks, advertisers and media owners to give consumers a simple way to shop using their mobile phone.
Commenting on today's announcement, Monitise Group Chief Executive Alastair Lukies said: "We are delighted by Visa Europe's investment in the Mobile Money Network. The strategic endorsement by the world's largest payments brand comes at an incredibly exciting time. Like Monitise, Visa is working with leading players to ensure that future mobile payment technologies are as easy, simple and secure as card-based transactions are today."
The announcement by Visa Europe can be read below.
About Monitise
Monitise plc (LSE: MONI.L) is a technology and services company delivering mobile banking, payments and commerce networks worldwide with the proven technology and expertise to enable financial institutions and other service providers to offer a wide range of services to their customers in developed and emerging markets.
With live services in the UK, the US, India and Africa, the company is working with international partners to extend trusted and secure mobile banking, payment and commerce services in territories worldwide, including Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Monitise has strategic partnerships with Visa Inc., Visa Europe, RBS Group and FIS. Other leading partners and clients include HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, First Direct, U.S. Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Travelex, Vocalink, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile, 3 UK, Research In Motion, Best Buy Europe, The Carphone Warehouse, First Eastern, Astra International, JETCO and PCCW mobile.
More information is available at www.monitisegroup.com.
Contacts:
Monitise Group | |
Gavin Haycock, Media Relations | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7947 4156
|
Haya Herbert-Burns, Investor Relations | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7947 4928 |
Monitise Executive Team | |
Alastair Lukies, CEO | |
John Brougham, CFO | |
Lee Cameron, CCO | |
Mike Keyworth, COO | |
Frank D'Angelo, Executive Chairman, Monitise US | |
Canaccord Genuity Limited (NOMAD) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7050 6500 |
Simon Bridges | |
FTI Consulting | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113 |
Charles Palmer | |
Jon Snowball |
Visa Europe backs Mobile Money Network
Visa Europe invests in mobile shopping JV to drive growth of mobile money services
London, 7th March 2012 - The Mobile Money Network Ltd (MMN) today announces that Visa Europe intends to take a 15% stake in its business, which provides mobile commerce and payments services for retailers. The investment forms part of Visa Europe's strategy to deliver increased value for consumers, retailers and financial institutions through mobile payments.
Visa Europe and MMN will implement a number of m-commerce initiatives in the UK in 2012, taking MMN's bank-grade, interoperable infrastructure for secure, fast and simple mobile shopping to the mass market.
MMN's instant mobile checkout, Simply Tap, allows customers to easily identify and purchase a product on their mobile. Simply Tap can be used wherever a shopper sees a product they want - in print, on outdoor advertising, in-store or online - allowing the user to make an easy, secure purchase, with products delivered directly to his or her home address. As part of the new agreement, the app will also offer a number of new offers and savings available only to Visa cardholders.
There are 130m Visa cards in circulation in the UK and £1 in every £3 spent is now carried out on a Visa card, around 80% of which is on a debit card.
Peter Ayliffe, Chief Executive of Visa Europe said: "This agreement is another step in the delivery of our mobile payments strategy. We are working with partners and organisations across the mobile ecosystem to make the future of payments a reality for consumers, for retailers and for financial institutions. By 2020, we predict that more than half of all our transactions will be carried out on a mobile device. Our investment in the Mobile Money Network will support our aim to deliver a wide range of secure and reliable mobile payment services that help our members tap into the potential of m-commerce."
As part of the agreement Visa Europe will also take a seat on the MMN board.
Launched in November 2011, MMN and its Simply Tap service is chaired by Sir Stuart Rose as Non-Executive Chairman with backers including Carphone Warehouse, Charles Dunstone and Monitise. MMN is working with a large number of retailers and has already launched services with HMV, Goldsmiths and Thorntons and been first to market with cutting-edge technology including image recognition and transactional QR codes.
Sir Stuart Rose said: "Visa is the benchmark for trusted payments innovation on a global scale and this deal is a clear endorsement of MMN's ability to provide a secure, innovative and trusted solution. Together, Visa Europe and MMN will enable retailers to offer their customers a simple, unified instant mobile checkout that can be used to accelerate revenues and conversion through all their sales channels. The future of retail is mobile."
-ends-
About Visa Europe
In Europe, there are 445 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards. In the 12 months ending September 2011 those cards were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of €1.7 trillion. 14% of consumer spending at point of sale in Europe is with a Visa card, and almost 80% of that is on Visa debit cards.
Visa Europe is owned and operated by more than 3,700 European members and was incorporated in July 2004. Visa Europe is independent of global Visa Inc., with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe, while both companies operate to ensure global interoperability. As a dedicated European payment system Visa Europe is able to respond quickly to the specific market needs of European banks and their customers - cardholders and retailers - and to meet the European Commission's objective to create a true internal market for payments.
Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world. In addition, Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in over 200 countries.
For more information, visit www.visaeurope.com
About Mobile Money Network
The Mobile Money Network (MMN) launched in March 2011 with the vision of making the process of buying products across all sales and marketing channels a quick, easy and secure experience, hence increasing sales conversion for retailers. In November 2011, MMN launched its instant mobile checkout, Simply Tap - a mobile application available for iPhone and Android handsets.
MMN is working with a network of retailers, advertisers, banks and media owners to provide consumers with a simple way to discover and buy goods using the simplicity and ubiquity of the mobile phone. Retailers already signed up to the network include Thornton's, HMV, Carphone Warehouse, Goldsmiths, The Hut Group and Pretty Green.
MMN is a joint venture between Monitise, Best Buy Europe (including Carphone Warehouse), Visa Europe and Charles Dunstone.
Former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer Sir Stuart Rose is Non-Executive Chairman of MMN. Other board members include Former Minister of State for Trade Promotion and Investment, and former Chairman of Standard Chartered plc, Lord Davies of Abersoch CBE and co-founder and Partner at advertising agency CHI, Johnny Hornby. The Managing Director is John Milliken.
About Monitise
Monitise plc (LSE: MONI.L) is a technology and services company delivering mobile banking, payments and commerce networks worldwide with the proven technology and expertise to enable financial institutions and other service providers to offer a wide range of services to their customers in developed and emerging markets.
With live services in the UK, the US, India and Africa, the company is working with international partners to extend trusted and secure mobile banking, payment and commerce services in territories worldwide, including Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Monitise has strategic partnerships with Visa Inc., Visa Europe, RBS Group and FIS. Other leading partners and clients include HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, First Direct, U.S. Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Travelex, Vocalink, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile, 3 UK, Research In Motion, Best Buy Europe, The Carphone Warehouse, First Eastern, Astra International, JETCO and PCCW mobile.
More information is available at www.monitisegroup.com
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