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| Cards Asia would take place in Suntec city Singapore and is organised by Terrapin |
Consumers' behaviour and choices dictate innovations everywhere including banking and payments. E-bills are replacing printed statements and payment transactions can be done via a bank, a payment kiosk, mobile or online. Debit and credit cards proliferate and are not only replacing cash but displacing each other through clever sign-up rewards and customer loyalty programmes. Mobile-savvy and unbanked population in emerging economies like India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines are turning to mobile or m-banking. Payment cards, in varying levels of penetration in highly fragmented Asian market, are slowly yet surely picking up in Vietnam and Cambodia while mature markets like Singapore, Korea, Japan and Australia are already paving the way for contactless payments. Such trends in smart card applications and payments innovation are the focus at Cards Asia 2011 on 13-15 April 2011, Suntec Singapore.
Smart Banking, Smart Payments
The joint keynote plenary session on Day 1 of Cards Asia will emphasise on the technology and business drivers promoting consumer's banking experience. Senior-level bankers will share status of their local payment systems, how they are effectively marketing and keeping their customers loyal, as well as ways they are tackling security and technological challenges. At the Cards & Payments Asia Conference, Axis Bank, Bank Negara Indonesia, Habib Bank, HDFC Bank India, Bank Mega and National Payments Corporation of India will provide insights on how they are increasing card penetration in maturing, emerging and nascent markets.
"...Mobile phones are rapidly becoming a platform for offering all sorts of value-added applications such as banking, ticketing, loyalty and advertising...." |
Silas Brown, Managing Director, Collis Asia: "Many people see mobile phones as an ‘extension of the Internet into consumers' pockets'. Mobile phones are rapidly becoming a platform for offering all sorts of value-added applications such as banking, ticketing, loyalty and advertising. Consumer trust in the use of mobile for payments relies on a secure and stable system which banks and payment service providers must consider."
Datacard, on the other hand, works hand-in-hand with banks as well as credit unions and retailers to deliver personalised, permanent and ready to use cards to customers instantly. Angus McDougall, Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific: "The ability to put a ready-to-use credit, debit or stored value in the consumer's hands quickly and in a personalised way is powerful, and motivates a card-holder to activate and use the card. Instant financial card issuance is the biggest breakthrough taking place in retail bank branches now."
Mobile Wallets
"...In Asia, NXP is excited to be working with mobile handset manufacturers like ZTE and Google to enable new customer experiences through secure mobile transactions..." |
Talking about consumers' preference for simple and instant yet secure transactions, near field communication (NFC) technology is gaining momentum following a series of trials. NFC is touted as easy-to-use, intuitive new form of contactless payment. Through a payment chip embedded in a mobile handset or PDA, the consumer electronic device can be used for a wide variety of uses including mobile payment, ticketing and transport and smart poster. Exhibiting companies at Near Field Communication (NFC) World Asia 2011 include companies such as NXP, Sony and STMicroelectronics.
"In Asia, NXP is excited to be working with mobile handset manufacturers like ZTE and Google to enable new customer experiences through secure mobile transactions. We are delivering on our promise to bring NFC to consumers through the latest innovative applications including electronic wallet, automotive keyless entry and ticketless transport applications," said Jeff Miles, Director, Mobile Transactions Worldwide, NXP Semiconductors.
The New Retail Experience
Mobile wallet is undoubtedly cool. A store in a pocket will be super, too. "Local retailers should adopt a multi-channel strategy to ensure they are present where the customers are - be it in-store, online or mobile. They can also grow their business by selling online to the world and using a global payment platform like PayPal. From our recent online shopping research, Singaporeans have clearly indicated that variety of products is what they are first looking for online, and not just the lowest price. This is a call to action for domestic merchants to ensure their online stores offer a wider range of products to get a larger slice of the local e-commerce market," said Elias Ghanem, MD & GM, Southeast Asia & India, PayPal.
Organised by Terrapinn, the three-day conference and exhibition on smart cards and payments innovation is expected to draw 8,000 attendees. The 8000 sqm exhibition floor combines smart cards & payments innovation with other synergistic events namely, Prepaid Cards World Asia, RFID World Asia, Near Field Communication (NFC) World Asia, Mobile Money World Asia, Retail World Asia, Digital ID World Asia and Transport Ticketing World Asia.
