The Mobile Payment Forum is a global, cross-industry alliance of leading organizations from the mobile and financial industries dedicated to realizing the full potential of mobile commerce. Launched in November 2001, the Forum creates a framework for the deployment of simple, secure and interoperable m-payments. The Forum provides an open, flexible and trusted environment in which member organizations can clarify the opportunities and address the complex challenges facing the industry.
Membership in the Forum includes organizations involved in facilitating mobile payments: key financial institutions, payment card companies, telecommunications operators, wireless-device manufacturers, merchants, content providers and software and hardware developers and vendors.
Our mission is to leverage the expertise of key participants in the mobile communications and financial industries to create a foundation for standardized technology and functionality for mobile payments, and address consumer and merchant needs for simple, secure, and interoperable m-payment choices. In accomplishing this, the Mobile Payment Forum aims to:
The Mobile Payment Forum is the only global, cross-industry alliance of leading organizations from the wireless and financial industries dedicated to realizing the full potential for mobile (m) payments.
The Forum was incorporated in March, 2001 and launched in November, 2001. With members representing key industry segments around the world, the Mobile Payment Forum is well positioned to carry out its mission to create a foundation for standardized technology and functionality for mobile payments, and address consumer and merchant needs for simple, secure, and interoperable m-payment choices.
The Mobile Payment Forum brings together the wireless and financial industries to accelerate the development of the mobile payment market by providing an open and trusted environment in which member organizations address complex challenges facing the industry. The Mobile Payment Forum influences the development of wireless and financial standards by delivering the necessary tools to aid the industry in creating standards for safe, interoperable m-payments. These tools include requirements documents, best practices, detailed use cases, white papers and, as appropriate, specifications.
The group was established by American Express, JCB Co. Ltd., MasterCard International and Visa International, who bring their extensive experience in creating interoperable global standards and specifications and their knowledge of payments via emerging channels. The Forum’s board of directors reflects its global, cross-industry make-up. In addition to the founders, it includes: 3 (formerly Hutchison3G), Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Oracle, Orange, Telecom Italia Mobile, T-Mobile and Vodafone.
Member participants in the Forum are working together to find common ground, with the ultimate goal of delivering a practical framework that allows for a choice of protocols and payment solutions — thereby meeting consumer and merchant needs for selection, convenience, and simplicity.
The Mobile Payment Forum is led by its board of directors, who oversee the Steering Group. The Steering Group is responsible for the strategic planning, review and approval of all technical activities of the Mobile Payment Forum.
In addition to its strategic planning role, the work of the Steering Group includes such activities as evaluating activity proposals and assigning the work to appropriate Working Groups; providing reports on the progress of technical work; and initiating contact with other industry groups and establishing liaisons as necessary.
The Mobile Payment Forum has three technical working groups, organized along the functional lines associated with the mobile payment process. All current and future activities are assigned to one of the following working groups:
Mobile Payment Configuration and Maintenance
Mobile Payment Processes Working Group
Mobile Payment Authentication Working Group
Smart Contract Audit Service
The Mobile Payment Forum favors open standards and choice and is technology-neutral. Our goal is to create a framework that will allow a choice of protocols and payment solutions to be used.
The Mobile Payment Forum is focused on developing a framework for technical specifications that address specific areas of mobile payments such as cardholder authentication, passwords, and encryption. We would prefer to build on current technologies and take advantage of existing infrastructure rather than redesign them; for example, the Forum may produce use cases and business requirements documents for the personalization of multi-application devices but then share them with relevant organizations created for the purposes of developing standards. In this way we would complement, rather than duplicate efforts. However, if we find that no other organization is taking the lead on necessary specifications, the Forum will, as a last resort, take on such an initiative.
The Mobile Payment Forum has a very specific focus – to develop methods for standardized, secure and authenticated mobile payments. An organization with an international membership base serving a global market, ours is the only consortium to bridge the efforts of the entire mobile and financial communities for m-commerce. We intend to make it possible to choose from a number of protocols and payment solutions for mobile payments.
The Mobile Payment Forum intends to complement the work that is already being done by these groups. As such, the Forum has set up a formal liaison relationships procedure as a mechanism for reviewing and establishing appropriate partnerships in areas of common interest. Any member of our organization is welcome to put forth a proposal for a liaison relationship with another industry organization. All proposals that allow for broad consensus building and the elimination of redundancy will be considered.
Cross-industry co-operation is the single most efficient and rapid method of developing acceptable approaches, standards and specifications. Acting as a bridge between the mobile and financial industries, the Mobile Payment Forum aims to accelerate the development of the m-commerce market by allowing consumers to make secure, convenient mobile payments. Our approach will expand the overall market. In the process, it will increase market opportunities for handset and chip manufacturers, telcos, programmers, wireless application service providers (WASPs) and many more organizations.
Ultimately, our efforts should simplify the payment process and reduce the cost of deployment, allowing merchants to provide affordable, interoperable m-payment options and consumers around the world to purchase simply and securely. Merchants and consumers will be able to do this anywhere in the world, in ways that take into account any specific regional preferences or circumstances.
We actively seek to engage all organizations involved in m-commerce, including telecommunications providers, handset manufacturers, payment card companies, financial institutions, merchants and merchant acquirers, wireless application service providers (WASPs), and programmers for the mobile market – such as browser developers, encryption service developers, systems integrators and chip manufacturers.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.Organizations that want to play a leading role in the forum can become Principal members at a cost of $12,500 a year. Principal members have voting rights, may run for a seat on the board of directors, are automatically eligible to participate in Steering Committee (through which all technical matters are passed), and may have unlimited participation in all committees and working groups. Associate membership costs $4,000 a year. Associate members do not have voting rights but may participate in working groups, provide input on deliverables, have access to all research and attend all general meetings.
