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Citi Tap and Pay Mobile Payments Pilot Breaks New Ground
Identifies Essentials for Commercial Viability of Mobile Proximity Payments
LONDON, March 3, 2010-- Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC) a leading independent global financial
services and payments consultancy, today announced the release of its white
paper titled "Citi Tap and Pay mobile NFC proximity payments pilot -
Bengaluru, Results & Findings" that captures its views, perspectives and
conclusions on the Citi Tap and Pay pilot service launched in the city of
Bengaluru in July 2009. With over 3000 customers, 250 merchant locations and
nearly 50,000 purchases made, the recently concluded 26-week pilot is one of
the world's largest and most comprehensive next-generation contactless credit
card payments pilot ever undertaken based on Near Field Communications[1]
technology.
Among some of the noteworthy highlights of the Citi Tap and Pay pilot was
that it reported positive customer feedback on all key fundamentals such as
customer interest, usage and satisfaction. In fact, the service generated
very high growth rates in overall transaction activity resulting in a
significant increase in total spends, which crossed INR 26 Million. Features
such as secure and hassle-free activation and enhancement in transaction
speed scored positively with customers. Merchant Establishments too polled
favourably for the service on its ability to speed-up payments at check-out
counters.
According to the Nielsen Company, the consumer insights partner to the
pilot, customer satisfaction with the Citi Tap and Pay service, as measured
with the proprietary eQTM customer satisfaction index based on over 1740
studies conducted across the world, was ranked in the 'World Class' category.
To download and view the full text of the white paper, visit
http://www.edgardunn.com/pointsOfView/whitepaper.cfm.
"This pilot has shown, once and for all, that suitably conceived and
efficiently implemented NFC programmes, can unlock hidden demand for growth
in electronic payments," says Samee Zafar, Director, Edgar Dunn & Company,
who leads the firm's Advanced Payments Consulting practice. "NFC technology
can help achieve a longstanding aspiration that has eluded everyone so far -
migrating cash transactions to electronic means," adds Zafar.
Satish Menon, Executive Vice President, Citi Growth Ventures, said, "The
Citi Tap and Pay pilot has more than validated expectations, with a clear
consumer demand emerging for contactless mobile payments and services during
the pilot. This is an extremely strong endorsement and validates our belief
that mobile payments have the potential to transform the way our highly
mobile, international and increasingly urban customers make everyday
payments. We are also happy that this pilot provides insights which will
prove crucial to getting the customer experience right as we, together with
the industry, bring next-generation mobile financial services to market."
Vijay Ramchandran, Chief Marketing Officer, Citi South Asia, Director,
E-Business & Liabilities, Insurance & Investments, Citi India, said, " The
mobile phone is without doubt the most successful consumer product ever and
our customers' response to this pilot service demonstrates that they expect
to do more of everything through their mobile phone, including payments. We
are especially pleased that Citi Tap and Pay marks a key global milestone in
bringing to reality the convergence of the wallet with the mobile phone. We
will continue to build on Citi's legacy of innovation to add momentum for
quicker and wider adoption of this smart, everyday, everywhere technology."
Conceived by Citi Growth Ventures, and spearheaded by Citibank India, in
collaboration with Nokia, Vodafone, MasterCard and ViVotech, Citi Tap and Pay
offered customers in Bengaluru an opportunity to experience the simplicity,
ease and convenience of using their mobile phone as a credit card. Early
adopters of this technology enjoyed promotional offers such as discounts at
popular merchant establishments across a wide range of categories including
department stores, food courts at shopping malls and office buildings,
restaurants and fast food chains, bookstores and multiplexes.
About Edgar, Dunn & Company
Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC) is an independent global financial services
and payments consultancy. Founded in 1978, the firm is widely regarded as a
trusted advisor to its clients, providing a full range of strategy consulting
services, expertise and market insight. Global capabilities include in-depth
industry knowledge and expert advice on strategy, operations, risk
management, marketing, profitability improvement, product development, and
new products and technologies. With offices in Atlanta, Frankfurt, London,
Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney, EDC serves clients in over 30
countries on six continents. More information can be found at
http://www.edgardunn.com.
Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately
200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries.
Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations,
governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and
services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment
banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information
may be found at http://www.citigroup.com or http://www.citi.com.
---------------------------------
[1]Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connectivity
technology standard designed for intuitive, simple and safe communication
between electronic devices. NFC communication is enabled by bringing two NFC
compatible devices within a few centimeters of one another. Applications of
NFC technology include contactless transactions such as payment and transit
ticketing, simple and fast data transfers including calendar synchronization
or electronic business cards and access to online digital content.
Source: Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC)
Media Contacts: Edgar, Dunn & Company: Volker Schloenvoigt, +44-20-7283-1114, volker.schloenvoigt@edgardunn.com; Citi India: Indu Aishwerya Anand, +91-124-418-6766, +91-981177-1912, indu.anand@citi.com; Citi Growth Ventures: Stephen Silverman, +1-212-793-0321, silvermans@citi.com
Citi Tap and Pay Mobile Payments Pilot Breaks New Ground
Identifies Essentials for Commercial Viability of Mobile Proximity Payments
LONDON, March 3, 2010-- Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC) a leading independent global financial
services and payments consultancy, today announced the release of its white
paper titled "Citi Tap and Pay mobile NFC proximity payments pilot -
Bengaluru, Results & Findings" that captures its views, perspectives and
conclusions on the Citi Tap and Pay pilot service launched in the city of
Bengaluru in July 2009. With over 3000 customers, 250 merchant locations and
nearly 50,000 purchases made, the recently concluded 26-week pilot is one of
the world's largest and most comprehensive next-generation contactless credit
card payments pilot ever undertaken based on Near Field Communications[1]
technology.
Among some of the noteworthy highlights of the Citi Tap and Pay pilot was
that it reported positive customer feedback on all key fundamentals such as
customer interest, usage and satisfaction. In fact, the service generated
very high growth rates in overall transaction activity resulting in a
significant increase in total spends, which crossed INR 26 Million. Features
such as secure and hassle-free activation and enhancement in transaction
speed scored positively with customers. Merchant Establishments too polled
favourably for the service on its ability to speed-up payments at check-out
counters.
According to the Nielsen Company, the consumer insights partner to the
pilot, customer satisfaction with the Citi Tap and Pay service, as measured
with the proprietary eQTM customer satisfaction index based on over 1740
studies conducted across the world, was ranked in the 'World Class' category.
To download and view the full text of the white paper, visit
http://www.edgardunn.com/pointsOfView/whitepaper.cfm.
"This pilot has shown, once and for all, that suitably conceived and
efficiently implemented NFC programmes, can unlock hidden demand for growth
in electronic payments," says Samee Zafar, Director, Edgar Dunn & Company,
who leads the firm's Advanced Payments Consulting practice. "NFC technology
can help achieve a longstanding aspiration that has eluded everyone so far -
migrating cash transactions to electronic means," adds Zafar.
Satish Menon, Executive Vice President, Citi Growth Ventures, said, "The
Citi Tap and Pay pilot has more than validated expectations, with a clear
consumer demand emerging for contactless mobile payments and services during
the pilot. This is an extremely strong endorsement and validates our belief
that mobile payments have the potential to transform the way our highly
mobile, international and increasingly urban customers make everyday
payments. We are also happy that this pilot provides insights which will
prove crucial to getting the customer experience right as we, together with
the industry, bring next-generation mobile financial services to market."
Vijay Ramchandran, Chief Marketing Officer, Citi South Asia, Director,
E-Business & Liabilities, Insurance & Investments, Citi India, said, " The
mobile phone is without doubt the most successful consumer product ever and
our customers' response to this pilot service demonstrates that they expect
to do more of everything through their mobile phone, including payments. We
are especially pleased that Citi Tap and Pay marks a key global milestone in
bringing to reality the convergence of the wallet with the mobile phone. We
will continue to build on Citi's legacy of innovation to add momentum for
quicker and wider adoption of this smart, everyday, everywhere technology."
Conceived by Citi Growth Ventures, and spearheaded by Citibank India, in
collaboration with Nokia, Vodafone, MasterCard and ViVotech, Citi Tap and Pay
offered customers in Bengaluru an opportunity to experience the simplicity,
ease and convenience of using their mobile phone as a credit card. Early
adopters of this technology enjoyed promotional offers such as discounts at
popular merchant establishments across a wide range of categories including
department stores, food courts at shopping malls and office buildings,
restaurants and fast food chains, bookstores and multiplexes.
About Edgar, Dunn & Company
Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC) is an independent global financial services
and payments consultancy. Founded in 1978, the firm is widely regarded as a
trusted advisor to its clients, providing a full range of strategy consulting
services, expertise and market insight. Global capabilities include in-depth
industry knowledge and expert advice on strategy, operations, risk
management, marketing, profitability improvement, product development, and
new products and technologies. With offices in Atlanta, Frankfurt, London,
Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney, EDC serves clients in over 30
countries on six continents. More information can be found at
http://www.edgardunn.com.
Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately
200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries.
Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations,
governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and
services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment
banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information
may be found at http://www.citigroup.com or http://www.citi.com.
---------------------------------
[1]Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connectivity
technology standard designed for intuitive, simple and safe communication
between electronic devices. NFC communication is enabled by bringing two NFC
compatible devices within a few centimeters of one another. Applications of
NFC technology include contactless transactions such as payment and transit
ticketing, simple and fast data transfers including calendar synchronization
or electronic business cards and access to online digital content.
Source: Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC)
Media Contacts: Edgar, Dunn & Company: Volker Schloenvoigt, +44-20-7283-1114, volker.schloenvoigt@edgardunn.com; Citi India: Indu Aishwerya Anand, +91-124-418-6766, +91-981177-1912, indu.anand@citi.com; Citi Growth Ventures: Stephen Silverman, +1-212-793-0321, silvermans@citi.com