“Although dwarfed by paper rewards in terms of volume, growth in digital rewards will be much higher in the coming years.”

The research note recognizes i-movo and includes it under the heading of “Vendors to Watch”.

Gartner clients can access the full research here.

Single copies of the report can be purchased here.

Molson Coors has launched a new version of iPint – arguably one of the most successful pieces of app-based marketing ever released – with a mobile voucher offering shoppers £1 off a four-pack of Carling.

The new version of the app, which was originally launched in 2008 and has been downloaded more than two million times, would help to drive footfall to convenience stores, said the brewer.  It will direct consumers to shops with a PayPoint terminal that can be used to process and redeem the barcode vouchers, which will be made available to one million shoppers.

“In revamping iPint, we wanted to celebrate the success of the original app and reward those who downloaded it,” said Molson Coors digital marketing manager Andy Henwood.

“The scannable barcode features groundbreaking technology and will help Carling drinkers redeem their vouchers while on the move, while also driving footfall to retailers across the country.”

Molson Coors has launched a new version of its Carling iPint app, which lets users pretend to drink beer through their smartphones.

Molson Coors is launching a revamped version of its popular iPint app, with the updated version now available to download, which includes discount vouchers for Carling drinkers.

Offering £1 off of a four-pack of Carling beer, the app also locates the nearest suppliers of the drink for its users. In a bid to ensure increased footfall and a smooth process, Molson Coors has worked with shops with PayPoint terminals to process the vouchers, and has included a scannable barcode to make till-point redemption easier.

The app aims to reach around one million customers, off the back of its originator’s success in 2008, which has accrued over two million downloads. The new version of the app still features one of the older version’s most popular features: turning an iPhone into a virtual pint of Carling.

Andy Henwood, digital marketing manager for Molson Coors (UK & Ireland), said: “In revamping iPint, we wanted to celebrate the success of the original app and reward those who had downloaded it in an innovative and mobile way, with some great offers from Carling. The scannable barcode features ground-breaking technology and will help Carling drinkers redeem their vouchers while on the move, while also driving footfall to retailers across the country.”

HAMPSHIRE, UK: February 13th, 2012: Five companies at the forefront of new developments in Mobile Commerce have been given Juniper Research Future Mobile Awards for Mobile Commerce.

Juniper Research has awarded Fiserv, Gemalto, i-movo, Nokia and Sybase 365 with the awards which are given to companies that have made a significant contribution to their sector and are poised to make considerable market impact in the future.

The awards were broken into six categories:

1. Mobile Banking:Fiserv, which in 2011 acquired mobile solutions provider M-Com, received the Mobile Banking award for its advanced triple-play product, integrated mCommerce product suite and global coverage.  The company offers a dedicated solution for emerging market un-banked and under-banked populations. Also highly commended in this category were Sybase and Fundamo.”With hundreds of financial institutions and millions of consumers already using our mobile banking and payments services, Fiserv is at the forefront of the digital transformation of banking,” said Adam Clark, SVP and general manager, Mobile Solutions, Fiserv.  ”This recognition of our contribution to the mobile banking and payments market space is an honour, and we plan to continue exhibiting the innovation and leadership for which we are known.”
2. Mobile Coupons: i-movo received the Mobile Coupons award for extensive experience with mobile coupons, vouchers and cash transfers, having developed and patented technology to use credit card payment standard messaging to support secure digital voucher processing. Also highly commended in this category were Eagle Eye and Telmap.”Experience, retailer coverage and usage by millions of customers are the key measures of success and are what has established i-movo as the market leader for secure digital vouchers,” said David Tymm, CEO of i-movo. ”Juniper’s recognition of this is a tremendous endorsement of our approach and we look forward to the rapid development of the market that Juniper predicts.”
3. NFC: Gemalto received the NFC award for occupying a pivotal position in the NFC market providing both SIM and Trusted Service Manager NFC technology and services on a worldwide basis. Its recent selection for TSM project lead such as for Singapore IDA and ISIS exemplify its success.  Also highly commended in this category were Proxama and ViVOtech.
4. Mobile Ticketing: Gemalto also received the Mobile Ticketing award for its track record in delivering contactless solutions for mass transit systems for more than 10 years with more than 100 million contactless cards shipped and its continued innovations in the transition to NFC ticketing.  Also highly commended in this category were masabi and NeoMedia.”NFC continues to penetrate new markets across the world,” said Remi De-Fouchier, Senior Vice President, Trusted Services Management at Gemalto. ”Gemalto has been there every step of the way, providing our customers and the mobile NFC ecosystem as a whole with the reliability and security our products and solutions deliver – from our TSM solutions to digital wallet and beyond.”
5. Mobile Money Transfer: Nokia received the Mobile Money Transfer award for its Indian service accessible across all Nokia devices and being preloaded onto all new devices; ease of use across a multitude of devices is essential to a national service gaining critical mass. Also highly commended in this category were Sybase and Fundamo.”We are pleased with this Gold award for our Nokia Money family of services which recognises the contributions of the global Nokia team together with our business and market partners,” said Rahul Mewawalla, VP and general manager, Nokia Mobile Financial Services. ”On their behalf, I would like to thank the Future Mobile Awards judges and express our appreciation for their comments.”
6. Mobile Payments: Sybase 365, a SAP company, received the Mobile Payments awards for its extensive customer base supported by a comprehensive mCommerce platform enabling a wide range of payments applications strengthened by an extended relationship with IBM. Also highly commended in this category were Ericsson and Aepona.”Sybase 365 is a pioneer of the mobile economies in both developed and emerging markets and we are proud to receive recognition for our commitment and contribution to the mobile payments, money transfer and banking sectors,” said John Sims, President, Sybase 365. ”At Sybase 365, we have a commitment to delivering innovative solutions that allow financial institutions and mobile service providers to engage their customers in uniquely mobile scenarios that expand opportunities and markets, while delivering value in the lives of consumers.”

David Snow, Senior Analyst and Panel Judge at Juniper Research gave more details, ”All our award winners and highly commended players have demonstrated either long term commitment or specific innovations within the mobile commerce market over the past year. They are also key and active players in the mobile commerce ecosystem without which the market cannot develop to its full potential.”

The awards were decided by a panel of expert judges based on a number of criteria including: Product range and innovation; Geographic market penetration; Evidence of commercial campaigns; Partnerships and Potential future business development.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

The technology companies that will outshine the competition this year

With the adoption of smart mobile devices starting to outgrow the sales of desktop PCs, the potential for commercial services to be offered over these devices becomes very strong. Big players like Visa have already paved the way for payments over mobiles and other players in this market will soon follow suit.
i-movo.com provides secure vouchers to multiple devices – a factor competitors have so far failed to make the most of. This means the company could steal a good chunk of the NFC payments, cash out and vouchers markets. Brands already signed up include Coca-cola, Fosters and Nestle.

A Facebook PR man was asked if was reasonable that when Facebook user “Likes” a product, this is parlayed by the brand into a full-blown product endorsement but if any persons ‘Friends’ tend to take such a recommendation to heart and go and actually buy the product. This question underlies Facebook’s revenue-making potential so needs asking. Proving that online marketing activity results in offline sales remains the Holy Grail of close-loop marketing and as long as the majority of retail transactions are done face-to-face and the need to prove the ROI of marketing spend intensifies, the need to close this loop will only intensify. A digital voucher issued online and then redeemed instore does just this.

Also illuminating was the tale of the programmer who had bought himself a digital-dog on Facebook using Facebook Credits, an online currency bought for real money that is then spent on ‘content’ within Facebook. To complete the ownership experience, had had used more Credits to buy a digital version of what real dogs leave behind. There are a couple of cheap observations to be made here on the real and virtual worlds but the serious point is about the ephemeral nature of money itself; who issues it, who controls it and that confidence in any currency is paramount. This is highly topical in light of the 2009 Payment Services Directive and the recently enacted Electronic Money Regulations. These two acts are giant trawling nets for all manner of services that look and smell like money or payments and are a pedantic, British implementation of waffly, European Directives based on intent, sentiment and context. The net-net is that some services that common-sense suggest are a form of payment or money appear to fall outside the precise definition of these Acts while innocuous transactions that place consumers at no risk are caught within them. Or maybe not. Much of this is as yet untested in the courts so nobody really knows and until some judgements are made, uncertainty will stifle innovation. Now that i-movo has performed over 5M secure digital vouchers transactions worth more than £12M (which is more than everybody else in our market combined), we are keeping a close eye on this and will gladly share what we know if you are interested and would like to get in touch.

Until now, customers wishing to sell their mobile phone through the various schemes available have only been offered a choice of payment into a bank account, by cheque or as gift vouchers. Under this new scheme, customers of Mobile Phone Xchange can opt to receive a text message bearing a unique number and the value of the payment. The retailer checks the unique number using the PayPoint terminal and hands the cash to the customer. The retailer is then reimbursed by PayPoint  within three days.

Geoff Walters, Managing Director of Mobile Phone Xchange, commented:

Many companies say they offer ‘Cash for your old phone’ but Mobile Phone Xchange is the only company able to deliver on that promise in a manner convenient for customers. For us, cash means cash in hand, usually the same day as we receive your old phone and, in most cases, just a few minutes from where you live or work.

i-movo, the secure digital voucher specialist, is the technology provider behind CashOut. According to David Tymm, CEO at i-movo, security is key:

There can be no greater vote of confidence in a system than when a retailer takes money out of their till and hands it to the customer. With approaching four million transactions to date, retailers now accept our vouchers with the same confidence with which they have long accepted credit and debit card payments.

“This payout method, called CashOut, proved very successful with customers and retailers alike in recent projects with energy providers when we distributed i-movo vouchers using direct mail,” said Mike Igoe, Director of Retail Strategy at PayPoint. “These have delivered millions of pounds in cash back into local communities. Customers love the convenience of using a local shop to collect their payment and this generates additional footfall and business for our retailers. Adding the mobile delivery channel to CashOut adds a new dimension of speed and convenience that can only broaden the appeal of CashOut.”

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