aimm News

By David Ashman, Director of Industry Affairs, AIME

At the same time that many European leaders are tentatively celebrating the first signs of economic recovery, a redraft to the EU Payment Services Directive sees the bureaucratic pen threatening to wipe-out 50% of the existing mobile and fixed line services market, whilst slamming the door shut on one of the sector’s growth opportunities.

The Damocles Sword of regulation may be nothing new. Since the recession began in 2008, AIMEs action has narrowly averted the closure of the Participation TV sector, following EU changes to advertising definitions; as the Telecoms regulator drags its heels AIME has fought hard for recognition that ancient spending caps have strained margins eroded by inflation; whilst AIME has fought a constant stream of battles with pot shots being taken at individual verticals in turn, the corral has been tightened on the herd, rather than the lasso on the rogue.

However, as painful as these episodes have been, they pale in significance to the impact that the current draft of the exemption for network operators inside the Payment Services Directive would have if ratified by the EU.  This threat is different for three especial reasons.

Firstly, the scale. Assuming that network operators do not wish to become registered Payment Service Providers with the changes to accounting, financial reserves and billing architecture this would involve, AIME has identified 14 content verticals, across both Mobile and Fixed Line access mechanisms, which would likely be unable to continue.  These include some of the bedrocks of the sector, such as charity donations, TV voting, competitions entry, virtual currency, gaming and chat.

Secondly, the pan-European application.  Previously threats have been confined to nationally set regulations, or an erroneous interpretation of an EU directive by a single member state.  The impact, whilst significant within that territory, has been marginal within a company’s global operation. The threat on this occasion would be hardcoded into European law, forcing its adoption, with no opportunity for dilution, into the legislative framework of 28 countries.

Finally, the window for reform is limited. Irrespective of the will of a member state’s own Parliament, European law, with very few exceptions, takes precedent over nationally set laws or standards. Member states have scope to raise, not lower, the bar set by the EU. Any subsequent amendment to the exemption would therefore require change at a European level, a complicated and indefinable slow process to pass the EU Commission, European Parliament and Council of Ministers in turn.

To avert this damaging blow, action is necessary now, or the industry across Europe will be locked into a binding framework for many years to come.  AIME ‘s relationship with the UK Treasury and sector regulators has given us a good foundation, though to be successful we must now spread the word amongst their European counterparts and unite industry providers across Europe in a collective campaign to save the market. It is imperative that those companies who traditionally sit on the sidelines, now take a stand, join AIME and ensure we have the backing necessary to send a very clear message.

AIME has produced a white paper on the changes proposed to the Payment Services Directive, which is available for download from the AIME website.

This month, the Exchange blog is joined by Matt Charles of Showcaster and Grabyo, who’ll be answering our questions on the recent launch of Grabyo; an exciting new way to share TV clips through social media.

What is Grabyo and how do viewers use it?

In short, the idea is that with one click viewers can grab the last 20 seconds of what they are watching on television and share it with their own comments on Facebook and Twitter.

We’ve developed this with our ShowCaster team, so we have put plenty of experience from working with a number of broadcasters into the launch of Grabyo with Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model and the show’s sponsors TRESemmé on the Sky Living channel.

Users do not need to download an application and Grabyo works in whichever way they are watching television. They simply go to the website, select the programme and click to record a clip, which can then be instantly shared through a link on social networks.

The clips incorporate promotional messages and advertising, allowing sponsors to extend their association with the show to the social conversation, in this case by promoting hair care products.

Can this used in any Broadcasted show or are there limitations?

Conceptually, Grabyo could work with any televised programme or platform, but of course there are always issues to consider around rights.  Working with all parties in the broadcast value chain is the best approach, from broadcasters, production companies, right through to brands.

What are the main commercial opportunities and applications for Grabyo?

It’s a new ad revenue stream for broadcasters. The idea is that viewers will naturally want to share their favourite moments with their friends via social media, increasing the visibility of the live show and exposure to the broadcasters programmes and on demand platforms with a better experience provided via video clips.

Tagged onto the start and end of the clip, brand stings and advertising from the broadcaster and show sponsor can be added to extend their brand reach and association with the show, as well as increasing the online conversation around the show. In BINTM’s case, show sponsor TRESemmé took the promotion of their hair care products into the digital age.

Won’t viewers be put off by advertising messages being added to the clips they share?

We don’t think so. Whether users will tolerate sponsorship of clips is something that only time will tell, but it’s important to remember that the show sponsor is partnering with the show because the audience demographic is relevant to their brand – therefore the adverts attached the clips are also relevant to the audience, making it less likely viewers will be put off.

For Grabyo to realise its potential, it needs to achieve scale – something that is possible with the power of social media. With Grabyo’s capabilities, added to the rise in adoption of smartphones and tablet devices, it seems that the use of video clips will only continue to rise, so Grabyo is well placed to add an extra level of engagement as well as a new experience to popular broadcast content.

More information on Grabyo can be found on the website here: www.grabyo.com or to contact Matt, just leave your contact details here: http://about.grabyo.com/

 

 

AIME’s first annual conference and the inaugural Payforit Summit was held last week at the British Academy building in Central London, a highly anticipated event as tickets sold out in the weeks leading up to the Summit.

The Summit was designed to educate new sectors on the Payforit opportunity and how they can utilize charge-to-mobile into their mobile and online monetization strategy, as well as bring together existing Industry players to reflect and discuss the journey Payforit has been on to arrive as the billing mechanic it is today.

Drawing together expertise from leading companies such as Oxygen8, ImpulsePay, Boku, Mach, GlobalCharge and the UK MNOs Vodafone, O2, EE and Three, the Summit highlighted the opportunities for new sectors such as publishing and mobile gaming/gambling.

In his opening remarks to over 120 delegates in the morning session, Tim Green, editor of Mobile Money Revolution, highlighted that mobile payments globally will top $235bn this year, with pay-by-mobile expected to give access to 4 billion phone users globally vs only 1.5 billion payment card owners.

Operator billing therefore offers up an unique opportunity for content owners to target an unbanked demographic, but, as Tim pointed out in his presentation, within the Banked demographic, it comes up against a range of innovative mobile payment technologies such as Chirpify’s pay-by-twitter service or Mybank’s direct-from- bank-account mechanic.

So who stands to gain the most from using Payforit operator billing? Brands can certainly expand their app store experience by using Payforit, as Andy Bovingdon, VP of product marketing at Bango explained in his presentation. Bango has experienced 300% uplift in sales using operator billing on a major app store; so it is clear that mobile billing should be an essential part of any brands content strategy due to it’s convenience and practicality delivering an excellent payment experience to consumers.

More highlights from the morning session included Anne Caffrey, senior Manager mCommerce at Vodafone, who analysed the state of the mCommerce nation. Anne explained to the packed room how in a world of disruptive mCommerce technologies, we need to go back to basics and focus on customer behaviour and perceived value when it comes to mCommerce and mobile payments. By uncovering current habits, finding out what is familiar with consumers, defining your value proposition and how technology can support this, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful e-commerce proposition.

Once the morning session was bought to a close, attendees were given their first chance to network with speakers and other delegates in the highly praised music room of the British Academy. Kicking off the afternoon sessions, attendees were given two work streams to choose from, with one stream focussing on Payforit beginners and the other helping attendees understand how they can grow their business with Payforit.

In stream 1, speakers included Aideen Short, expert mobile gaming consultant, James Harrison, UK country manager of Oxygen8 and Bernadette Lyons, CEO of GlobalCharge, who all approached topics aimed at introducing Payforit to delegates and helping them map out how charge-to-mobile will add value and a innovative payment experience to their content businesses.

James Harrison spoke of the growing operator billing opportunity, with a market of approximately 52 million mobile phone users to be tapped in the UK – but also highlighted that merchants shouldn’t be worried by consumer concerns around mobile payments (especially around security and fraud), as Payforit provides clear pricing with no need to provide bank details, as well as holding no risk of additional purchases being added to your bill or details being passed to other companies.

Over in Stream 2, speakers included Micheal Bradford of Mach, Gavin Dent of Empello and Emma Wright of Bond Dickinson, with topics approaching In-app billing, customer service best practise and the growth of affiliate marketing.

Mark Collins, Head of Regulatory Development at PhonepayPlus spoke insightfully on the regulatory developments for Payforit, speaking on how Payforit can help merchants stay on the right side of regulation, with useful information provided on prior permissions, regulation of services and how any complaints should be handled.

Michael Bradford, in one of the most anticipated presentations of the Summit, revealed to Stream 2 the first glimpses of feedback from the recently launched Payforit In-app trials, giving the attendees a first look at what to expect when the low friction Payforit experience is blended into the app environment. With examples of portable gaming revenues increasing 51% when utilising In-app purchases, Bradford explained it was unsurprising to see brands such as King.com reduce their dependence on advertising revenues by adopting in-app billing as their primary revenue driver.

Closing the Summit at the conclusion of both streams, AIME Chairman Edward Boddington thanked all attendees for participating in one of AIME’s most successful events to date, of course in no small part down to the fantastic support from all the event sponsors and organisers, not forgetting the excellent venue and its staff. We were pleased to announce Chris Cole as the winner of the AIME champagne prize draw, with IMImobile drawing David Ashman of AIME as the winner of their prize draw.

Presentations from the Summit will be made available via the AIME website shortly (subject to Speaker approval), with details on how to access the presentations being sent out to attendees once they are live.

For any questions relating to the Payforit Summit or AIME’s work in general, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the AIME exec. Contact Us.