Croatia is among the European leaders in the implementation of mobile payments, according to a recent global study of the sector by Arthur D Little, the world’s first management consulting firm

Croatia is among the European leaders in the implementation of mobile payments, according to a recent global study of the sector by Arthur D Little, the world’s first management consulting firm. Mobile payment, or m-payment, is the use of a mobile device during the transaction process for payments at places like vending machines, retail stores, or over the Internet. A further step toward a cashless society, the use of m-payments is set to take off, according to Arthur D Little. The firm estimates that m-payment transaction revenues will increase from $3.2 billion in 2003 to $11.7 billion in 2005 and $37.1 billion in 2008 world-wide. M-payments are already taking off in Asia, especially in countries such as Singapore and South Korea, which the report puts in the advanced market maturity stage, and are expected to take hold more broadly throughout the region in 2006. Europe is following close behind with successful m-payment services already launched in Austria and Norway; the m-payment market is expected to experience significant growth starting in 2008. The report puts Croatia’s m-payment market in the development stage, behind Norway and Austria’s advance stage markets, and Spain and Finland’s more advanced development stage markets. Croatia’s market maturity is not surprising, considering the country’s first independent mobile operator, VIP, is 99 percent owned by Austria’s mobilkom austria AG, a company which holds more than 50 percent of the country’s wireless market and is a major factor in the advanced development of m-payments in Austria. Croatia was one of the first European countries to see the introduction of m-parking, the charging of your parking fee to your mobile phone bill through your mobile devise. VIP introduced the service in 2001. It is interesting to note that the know-how gained from the Croatian launched was later used by the Austrian parent company to introduce the service in Austria. Croatia’s market maturity is ahead of The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Hong Kong, Canada; France and the United States, where the market is embryonic. Poor economic growth, the high investment necessary to develop a m-payment platform and the lack of technological standards have hindered the development of m-payments in the last several years, according to Arthur D Little. The companies that did attempt to launch m-payment services often failed to adequately invest in marketing and underestimated the importance of partnership with other players in the market. “Players have begun to understand that forming partnerships is critical to providing better service, reaching a broader market, and ultimately successfully launching m-payments services,” states Dr. Karim Taga, Partner and Global Head of Marketing for the Telecommunications, Information Technology, Media and Electronics practice at Arthur D Little. “That, along with steps made in developing standard platforms, will form the basis for future growth in the sector.” Vast differences in the development of the m-payment sector will continue between individual markets depending on market specifics, key players and relevant regulators. Arthur D Little expects the market will continue to be driven primarily by mobile operators, but with an increasing role played by banks and credit card companies. Zagreb Croatia is among the European leaders in the implementation of mobile payments, according to a recent global study of the sector by Arthur D Little, the world’s first management consulting firm. Mobile payment, or m-payment, is the use of a mobile device during the transaction process for payments at places like vending machines, retail stores, or over the Internet. A further step toward a cashless society, the use of m-payments is set to take off, according to Arthur D Little. The firm estimates that m-payment transaction revenues will increase from $3.2 billion in 2003 to $11.7 billion in 2005 and $37.1 billion in 2008 world-wide. M-payments are already taking off in Asia, especially in countries such as Singapore and South Korea, which the report puts in the advanced market maturity stage, and are expected to take hold more broadly throughout the region in 2006. Europe is following close behind with successful m-payment services already launched in Austria and Norway; the m-payment market is expected to experience significant growth starting in 2008. The report puts Croatia’s m-payment market in the development stage, behind Norway and Austria’s advance stage markets, and Spain and Finland’s more advanced development stage markets.