Computerworld Philippines Staff
March 10, 2010

Mobile commerce is gaining huge inroads in the developing countries across Southeast Asia, as related by summit speakers in the soon-to-be-held 3rd Mobile Commerce Summit ASIA in Manila on the end of March.

In the Philippines, in particular, mobile commerce is slowly being driven upward by new projects, offerings, and standards brought to consumers by the major telecommunications companies. “Traditionally, Mobile Commerce in Manila has been using mechanisms like SMS; now we are moving to Internet-based systems but need to remain friendly to the mass base of non-Internet users,” explained Miguel Paraz, development consultant for strategic business development, Smart Communications.

For his stint at the summit, Paraz said he will focus largely on the Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP), an operator-sponsored forum that seeks to drive the growth of mobile terminal requirements across the globe. “We are defining a standard for Widgets called ‘BONDI’,” shared Paraz. “I will talk about this platform, its applications, and how it enables for mobile commerce Internet applications.”

In other parts of the region, governments are supplanting the aid given by telcos and banks in driving m-commerce forward. “Banks and Telcos are the main initiators and their initiatives are influenced by the Digital Bangladesh Vision 2020 of the current political Government,” explained Zahadul Arafin, subject matter expert of m-Commerce, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited, Citycell.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, is seeing the emergence of hybrid payments solutions through their Octopus card, which will enable NFC contactless payments for users. “There are [also] various m-Commerce initiatives available around the retail space offering coupons, discounts and direct mobile purchase of goods and services,” added Brett King, chairman of the International Academy of Financial Management and CEO of User Strategy.

The 3rd Mobile Commerce Summit ASIA, organized by NEOEDGE, will take place in Crowne Plaza Galleria in Manila on March 24 to 25, 2010, and will field industry experts, leaders, and players towards discussing the next phase of evolution for the region’s m-Commerce space. – John Mark V. Tuazon

Possibly Related Posts:

• Philippine BPO industry hails Senate’s passage of cybercrime bill
• You don’t deserve more time, says judge to Facebook, Google: report
• Oracle asks for retrial against SAP in TomorrowNow case
• Microsoft opens C++ extension for other compilers
• Prepare Your Business for Facebook Mobile Ads

 Print This Post