Swedish Banks not very worried that new competitors such as Google and telephone operators are taking a dig in their lucrative sector

Thursday, 24 May 2012
Two things bank hate competitors and educators that combine to pull customer away from them or make customer more intelligent enough to challenge them. The growing use of mobile phones as credit cards is believed to grow and telephone operators are likely to be increasingly competing with banks in this area. Now Google with its Google Wallet seems to be settling into the market. Swedish banks are either privately worried or mean it when they say they are not worried.

The use of mobile phones as credit cards in daily trading is expected to gain a foothold in Sweden within 1 to 1.5 years. So says Björn Tennström who is the sales manager at the system provider of financial IT, Crosskey, owned by Bank of Åland in Sweden, reports Swedish business daily Dagens Industri.

"Many shops in the Swedish retail sector have prepared their payment terminals to accept payments via mobile phone. I think this starts to get a foothold in the 1 to 1.5 years. In the first instance it will probably young people who use mobile phones to make such payments, "said Bjorn Tennström to Dagens Industri.

The mobile wallet, which will include that cell phone replaces the credit card, expects to change the banks' lucrative short-term market.

"This opens up for new competition in which entrants are expected to provide financial services related to mobile. I think primarily that the operators are wild cards in this game with such cards solutions as part of the mobile telephone service, "said Bjorn Tennström. google-wallet

Swedbank says that the battle for mobile payment solutions has only just begun.
"The battle for mobile payment solutions has just begun. There are several players, who want to entre and telephone operators are some of the players who want to enter, "said Swedbank communications director Thomas Backteman.

Others who turn themselves in to the mobile banking market, such as Google with its Google Wallet is in collaboration primarily with Citi, MasterCard, Sprint and Google.

Thomas Backteman estimates that Google could become an important player in mobile payments.
"It is an interesting alternative that has all the makings of success on a global scale, "said Thomas Backteman while he stresses Swedbank's work in the area.
"Our assessment is that we have a stable position in the market for mobile payments. We now have a pilot food chain Hemköp where you can buy your cell phone at Hemköp in Åhléns city and in Hornstull, "said Thomas Backteman.

SEB has for five years worked to develop its new online banking at a cost of nearly 1 billion but has since April paused development of better and more accurate understanding of how the relationship with the bank is changing with the smart phone world. SEB's CEO Annika Falkengren is not worried about new competitors.

"We are never afraid of new competitors, "says SEB's CEO Annika Falkengren.
By Scancomark.se Team

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