Mobile Operators and Major Banks Join Mobey Forum

The fact that mobile operators are joining Mobey Forum is a strong indication of the increasing importance of close cooperation between key players in meeting consumers' needs. SK Telecom's Mr Seung Jin Choi, Director of Finance Business Development, comments: "The challenges for creating successful mobile financial services are global. That means we need to collaborate across industries, globally."

Telenor's Ms Hanne Sjursen, Group Manager ID and Electronic Payment, says: "Cooperation with banks is essential to providing consumer benefits, because it enables the creation of user-friendly and commercially viable services. Combining expertise in this way also provides opportunities for creating real added-value, for both banks and operators."

TeliaSonera's Mr Pasi Koistinen, Director of New Business and Partners, adds: "Mobey Forum's systematic and target-oriented work towards creating a viable Mobile Financial Services Ecosystem gave us the incentive to join. We are enthusiastic about contributing as an operator to Mobey Forum's core operations."

Two major banks, ING Bank and Rabobank, have also joined Mobey Forum. ING Bank's Mr Mark Buitenhek, General Manager, Payments Retail Europe, says: "Mobey Forum work creates the opportunity for standardizing mobile payments, which is essential for ING. It enables us to offer new innovative payment services that will meet the needs of both consumers and merchants."

Rabobank's Mr Willem de Jager, Director, M-commerce & Business Development, continues: "The main beneficiaries of the better services we create will be consumers."

In order to respond more effectively to growing global challenges in the sector, Mobey Forum has restructured its organization and appointed a new Chairman, Ron van Wezel, Senior Vice President of ABN AMRO. Mr van Wezel has some 20 years' experience in key positions in the payments industry. As Senior Vice President at ABN AMRO he is currently responsible for the Group's involvement in developing Market Infrastructures for Payments & Cards.

Mobey Forum has also elected new members to the Board of Directors: Mr Willem de Jager, of Rabobank, and Mr Antonio García Maeso, of BBVA. Other companies represented on the Board are HSBC, DnB NOR, Nordea, and UBS. In addition, Liisa Kanniainen has been appointed Executive Director of Mobey Forum. Ms Kanniainen has 12 years' experience in product development and market-making in the mobile financial services sector. She is in charge of Mobey Forum's operational activities.

Mr Ron van Wezel, Chairman of Mobey Forum, says: "I am very excited about my new position as Chairman and I look forward to close cooperation between mobile operators, banks and other key stakeholders. The rapid growth of Mobey Forum membership over the past few months shows that Mobey Forum has the industry's solid and growing support in its efforts towards creating sustainable business ecosystem scenarios that can enable the roll-out of mobile financial services for mass markets in the near future."