Mobile commerce

What is the m-commerce

Mobile commerce is one of the key development directions of the world telecommunication market. Being the logical continuation of the e-commerce, m-commerce is the result of the uniting advanced mobile technologies, Internet, financial services and online trade. The mobile commerce devides into two directions: mobile banking and mobile payments While macro payments are mobile banking prerogative, the main way of using mobile payments is micro payments, actual in the sphere of payments for retail goods and services.

Mobile commefce directions

Mobile banking implies managing of the bank account using mobile phone as a mean of bank account owner identification. While conducting payment transactions, an individual uses the money on the bank account.
Mobile payments (m-payments) implies conducting of the payment with the help of mobile phone using the money that is allocated on the pre-paid bank card. Mobile payments are performed without use of bank accounts and are available for the subscribers who do not own bank accounts.
Mobile content is the variety of the mobile payments, in which the mobile terminal is also used as a device for the ordered service recievement. This mobile commerce type is used in selling ringtones, pictires, Java-games, interactive media-projects (SMS-chats, SMS-votes) etc.

Russian mobile commerce market development

In recent years participants of the global telecommunication market pays much attention to the segment of mobile payments considering it to be the most perspective way of their development. Nowadays mobile payment market in Russia is on the stage of active formation. Efforts of the market participants are aimed on creation of the united technical and legislative infrastructure that will provide to the millions of Russian citizens major possibilities of mobile payments in everyday life.
Introduction of the mobile commerce in Russia provides benefits for different interested parties: salesman and customers use convenient services; banks receive new financial flows and outsourcing of the unusual for them low-profit business-models (micro payments, for instance); mobile operators receive extra income.

Creation of the full-fledged payment infrastructure assists the solution of several state issues that are formulated in the “Strategies of the information society development in the Russian Federation” approved by the President of the Russian Federation. Benefits achieved by the State after introduction of the mobile commerce are the following:

• providing of the extensive access to the financial services;

• formation of the nationally oriented payment system (in contrast to international card system);

• conversion of cash into non-cash payments with control centers in processing centers of the payment system;

• development of the innovative high technological field.