Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cloud
    • Mobile

    ATandT, Verizon to Take On MasterCard, Visa

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    August 2, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile are planning to challenge Visa and MasterCard as the newest facilitators of quick-shopping dollars.

      The carriers-AT&T and Verizon most dominantly, with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile in a supporting role-are planning to pilot a program that will allow consumers to pay for items using “contactless” technology on their mobile phones, Bloomberg reported Aug. 1, citing “three people with direct knowledge of the plan.”

      The pilot will reportedly kick off in Atlanta, before launching in three other U.S. cities. The carriers, which are the “biggest recurring billers in every market,” according to consultant Richard Crone in Bloomberg, are going after the $2.45 trillion market that Visa and MasterCard reportedly enjoyed in 2009.

      Similar programs are currently popular in Japan, Turkey and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the program will be handled, with a bit of help from Barclays, by Discover’s payments network-the fourth largest behind Visa, MasterCard and American Express, according to Bloomberg.

      The time may be right for contactless payments, as U.S. consumers increasingly turn to their mobile phones for purposes well beyond placing calls. In addition to Web surfing, e-mailing and turn-by-turn directions, mobile banking rates continue to rise-worldwide, Juniper Research expects 400 million people to subscribe to the service by 2013-as do services such as mobile ticketing. In a July report, Juniper forecast mobile ticketing transactions-whether for travel or sporting events-to exceed $100 billion, more than doubling the 2010 market.

      “I think it’s a very natural next step for mobile service providers to get into this,” Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT Research, told eWEEK. “They have the funding and the type of financial resources available that they can create a transaction system that would probably rival Visa’s.”

      Plus, said King, consumers in their teens, 20s and even 30s are so used to using their phones for a variety of services that “using their phone as a payment mechanism would probably be very natural for them.”

      Bloomberg reports that Visa is currently in talks with a number of mobile operators to partner on a contactless phone solution. While King said he isn’t surprised that Visa or MasterCard wouldn’t simply step aside and let other institutions come between them and their customers, it’s not so clear that an AT&T or Verizon would necessarily find it worthwhile to “give up a piece of their pie,” in exchange for the card companies’ expertise.

      As for the timing of the pilot, “you want to get the system up and going and get the bugs worked out before the biggest retail season of the year,” he said. Launching within the next 60 to 120 days, he said, would give the carriers the time they need to work things out, while also creating “significant revenues for this year.”

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      10 Best AI 3D Generators 2023

      Aminu Abdullahi - November 17, 2023 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for creating 3D models and animations. Discover the 10 best AI 3D Generators for 2023 and explore their features.
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×