Near Field Communications World » Hana Card

Retail partnerships are the key to a new NFC business model

Sarah Clark — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:08:40 +0000

OPINION: Korean mobile network operator SK Telecom's new T Smart Pay service comes with more than one twist to the 'standard' NFC business model. Not only has SKT bought its way into a card issuer for the launch, but it is also signing distribution deals with leading retailers.

T Smart Pay lets customers store up to eight credit cards in their mobile phones, as well as up to 30 membership/points/mileage cards and 50 coupons, and is being offered first via discount retail chain Home Plus. The retailer will promote the new Hana SK Card payments card to customers and will also be responsible for delivering customers their new T Smart Pay SIM card. "Then the company plans to introduce the service to other large-scale discount stores, department stores as well as franchise stores," the operator explains.

Could the model work in other countries too? Well, Home Plus is 95% owned by UK-based retail giant Tesco. And, the operator says, it plans to make "proactive efforts to enter the overseas markets to become the global leader in the field of smart payment."

Sarah Clark, Editor

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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SK Telecom and Hana launch SIM-based mobile contactless payments and promotions service

Sarah Clark — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:48:31 +0000

Korean consumers who sign up for a Hana SK Card credit account and pick up a new '13.56MHz RF SIM' via a retail partner will then be able to store multiple credit, loyalty and membership cards and discount coupons on their mobile phone.

SK TELECOM: Will use retailers to distribute T Smart Pay SIMs

Korean mobile network operator SK Telecom has launched T Smart Pay, a new mobile contactless service offered in cooperation with Hana SK Card, the card issuer in which it took a 49% stake in December.

T Smart Pay customers will be able to use the service to make payments at retailers equipped to accept Visa PayWave contactless card payments and will be able to receive both discount coupons and membership points.

Customers will be able to store up to eight credit cards in their mobile phones, as well as up to 30 membership/point/mileage cards and 50 coupons.

At the point of sale consumers will be able to choose which credit card they would like to pay with and, if they are a member of a loyalty programme, will automatically receive any special discounts or loyalty points on offer. They will also be able to get coupons by downloading them from mobile internet websites or from in-store kiosks, and will be able to take part in promotions and competitions organised by retailers to get special discount coupons and win promotional gifts.

Credit card information including transaction details, remaining credit limit and payment receipts will be accessible to T Smart Pay customers via their mobile phone. Membership card information such as totals for used, stored and remaining points will also be instantly available.

Consumers who sign up for the service download the T Smart Pay application, developed by SK Telecom, directly to their "financial services-enabled USIM card".

"T Smart Pay is expected to bring benefits to all stakeholders: Customers, affiliated stores and credit card companies," says SK Telecom:

By offering the integrated payment and settlement service, T Smart Pay will allow customers to save purchasing cost by leading them to make wiser and more informed purchasing decisions.
In addition, affiliated stores are expected to enjoy increased sales as they enhance customer satisfaction through better customer relations management made possible via T Smart Pay. They will also benefit from reduced cost of issuing coupons and flyers.
Furthermore, credit card companies are expected to benefit from lower plastic credit card issuance and replacement cost, and increased customer loyalty compared to competing credit card companies.

T Smart Pay will be offered first via Home Plus, a discount retailer with 113 branches which is jointly operated by Samsung and UK retailer Tesco. Home Plus will enable customers to sign up for a Hana SK Card plastic card and will also be responsible for delivering their new SIM card. "Then the company plans to introduce the service to other large-scale discount stores, department stores as well as franchise stores," the operator explains.

"SK Telecom expects T Smart Pay to help customers make the most economical purchasing decisions," says Sung-Cheol Hong, executive vice president and head of the service division at SK Telecom. "Further plans are underway to constantly upgrade this service based on SK Telecom's leading ICT and we will make proactive efforts to enter the overseas markets to become the global leader in the field of smart payment."

The service uses a technology which SK Telecom describes as '13.56MHz RF SIM'. "This method follows ISO7816 or 14443 standard for electronic identification cards including smart cards," the company told NFC World.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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China Mobile to buy stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank?

Sarah Clark — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:26:42 +0000

Bloomberg reports that China Mobile may be about to buy a 20% stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank at a cost of 40bn yuan (about $5.9bn).

The move, if confirmed, would give China Mobile's new RF SIM-based mobile payments service a foothold in the banking services sector. It follows SK Telekom's purchase of a 49% stake in Korean card issuer Hana Card and China Unicom's move to launch a commercial NFC service in Shanghai — and is part of a trend that we expect to become widespread as banks and mobile network operators move towards the commercial deployment of NFC and mobile contactless payments services.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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SK Telekom, Hana Financial to launch mobile contactless service in March

Sarah Clark — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:55:34 +0000

Hana Card, the Korean credit card issuer in which SK Telekom took a 49% stake in December, has announced it is to launch its new mobile proximity service in mid-March.

"Our goal is securing 400,000-500,000 new customers for mobile credit cards within the year," says Hana Card CEO Lee Kang-tae. "From now on, all the products we launch will be services that fuse communication with finance."

The new service, to be called Hana SK Card, will enable customers to pay by credit card with their mobile phone and to download coupons and information on special deals. Details of the technology to be used have not yet been revealed.

SK Telekom's CEO Man-Won Jung revealed detailed plans for the new joint venture in December. "The partnership is aimed at introducing and expanding the use of mobile credit cards while promoting next-generation payment and settlement services," he said. "With this deal, the two companies will maximise business synergies so as to create a new telecommunications and finance convergence market."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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SK Telecom buys stake in Korean card issuer, will launch mobile credit card services in 2010

Sarah Clark — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:42:14 +0000

Korean consumers will be able to use their mobile phones to make contactless credit card payments and pay for transport tickets from the second half of 2010, following SK Telecom's purchase of a 49% stake in Hana Card.

SYNERGIES: SK Telecom will enable Korean consumers to use their phones to make credit card payments

SK Telecom is buying a 49% stake in Korean card issuer Hana Card, for KRW400bn (US$343m). The move is "expected to bring changes to the market by allowing customers to use mobile phones as credit cards," says SK Telecom.

"The partnership is aimed at introducing and expanding the use of mobile credit cards while promoting next-generation payment and settlement services," explains SK Telecom's CEO Man-Won Jung. "With this deal, the two companies will maximise business synergies so as to create a new telecommunications and finance convergence market."

As well as enabling customers to use their phones to make payments at the point-of-sale, SK Telecom plans "to offer useful real-time information such as special notices and discount events while allowing financial transactions such as mobile banking and settlement."

Mobile credit cards, says the company, will allow "users to check credit card settlement information including details of credit card usage, remaining credit card limit and reward points, as well as other real-time information like bank accounts and membership. At the same time, it provides optimal decision-making information based on user's past purchasing record and location information while offering an integrated service that includes discount coupons, ads, membership and mileage points during credit card purchases."

"All the stakeholders are expected to benefit from the widespread use of mobile credit cards," the mobile operator continues. "Customers will be able to receive information and benefits including coupons on their mobile phones; credit card merchants will be able to boost sales and attract more customers by using information such as consumer purchasing patterns; and card companies will generate greater sales with increases in micropayment transactions and number of merchants, reduce time for plastic credit card issuance and save costs of plastic credit card production, delivery and replacement."

SK Telecom plans to introduce mobile credit card and smart payment services in the second half of 2010 and aims to deliver greater customer benefits by linking them with SK Telecom's membership programs and SK Group's OK Cashbag service.

Further moves towards the convergence of the mobile and payments card industries are expecting in the near future. Mobile operator KT is already involved in discussions to buy a stake in BC Card. And, as we reported in September, both BC Card and Shinhan Card have had plans to introduce their own mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services in a bid to own control of their customers' mobile wallets.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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