Mobile Payment Forum Releases Proximity Payment Issues & Recommendations Document.

Webinar on January 16, 2007 to Explore Findings and Conclusions

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- The Mobile Payment Forum (MPF), a global cross-industry alliance of key organizations from the mobile and financial industries dedicated to the advancement of mobile (m) commerce, has published its Proximity Payment Issues & Recommendations Document. To further explore the findings and conclusions of this document, the Mobile Payment Forum will hold a Webinar on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 at 8:30am PST/11:30am EST, for MPF members and non-members.

Proximity payments are a rapidly growing segment of the mobile payment industry, enabling transactions at non-traditional credit card acceptance locations, such as parking meters and fast-food restaurants. The technology allows customers to move quickly through the check out process, streamlining merchant operations and offering end users greater convenience and efficiency. The Mobile Payment Forum commissioned an activity group to address proximity payment issues, concerns, and challenges. The final deliverable of the activity is the Proximity Payment Issues & Recommendations Document.

The Mobile Payment Forum members published the Payment Issues & Recommendations Document for organizations considering the implementation of mobile proximity payment systems, or components of a system. The document highlights issues that need to be addressed in the area of mobile proximity payment, and recommendations to facilitate simple, secure and interoperable proximity payment solutions. The document also contains information that is useful to forums defining technology that may form a basis for implementation of a mobile proximity payment system. It covers topics related to provisioning and personalization, security, customer care, usability, and interworking, as related to proximity payment.

The document identifies two areas of priority for the advancement of infrastructure needed to support mobile proximity payment: the development of a personalization infrastructure, and the formation of an approvals process for mobile devices for proximity payment. The document pinpoints these areas as critical for ensuring scalability of mobile proximity payment systems across mobile operators, issuers, payment associations, secure elements and handset types. Other areas that are important, in particular to those designing mobile proximity payment systems and components include: security, a standard operating environment, swapping removable secure element, form factor and branding.

The final document is available on the MPF public website.

A Webinar that will provide an overview of this document is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16 , 2007 at 8:30am PST/11:30am EST. The dial-in and Webinar details are available by visiting the homepage of the MPF website at: http://www.mobilepaymentforum.org/home, and clicking on the registration link. Or, you may contact Jodi Bova at the Mobile Payment Forum, at [e-mail] to register for the Webinar.

The Forum currently fields activities in areas that range from Proximity Payments to the usability of mobile payment services, and recently launched a Remote Payments activity. The MPF is presently finalizing its 2007 Member Meeting and Plenary schedule. The next meeting will be held on March 13-14, 2007 at the Westin Horton Plaza in San Diego, CA. The MPF will host a public day on March 13th highlighting a Technology Showcase of New, Cutting-Edge Technological Companies. Please visit www.mobilepaymentforum.org for attendance and registration information. Any organization with an interest in facilitating secure m-commerce is welcome to join the MPF at the level of its choice, and participate in the Forum's work. More information and the membership application are available at www.mobilepaymentforum.org.

About the Mobile Payment Forum

The Mobile Payment Forum brings together leading organizations from the mobile and financial industries to create a foundation for standardized, secure and authenticated mobile payments. Our members bring extensive experience in creating interoperable global payment standards and specifications and a knowledge of payments in emerging channels. Membership includes key financial institutions, telecommunications operators, wireless-device manufacturers, merchants, content providers and software and hardware developers and vendors. The Mobile Payment Forum is a non-profit membership organization, incorporated in the state of Delaware in the United States.

For further information, visit the Mobile Payment Forum Web site at www.mobilepaymentforum.org.