English ²Ê^ ÁcÅé
About the company
Press Room
Management Team
Investors and Advisors

Press Room

Press Releases | In the news

mformobile.com   |  March 05 2001

SAR Launch for Emaimai Pay-by-Phone Platform

 

Technology solutions provider Emaimai is set to launch its mobile commerce platform in Hong Kong, giving users an alternative payment with cellular phones.

Chief executive Tony Surtees said the company was lining up merchants and financial institutions in its proprietary transaction system.

Registered users could use their cellular phones to buy online, without having to key in confidential information such as a credit- card number.

"The service allows people to have greater choice and more flexibility in terms of the way they pay for things," Mr Surtees said.

"It only requires a very little investment in time in terms of signing up."

Mr Surtees, previously the global executive vice-president of e- commerce for Yahoo!, said the launch date of the mobile commerce platform was not finalised but the company would "have something in the market by the second quarter".

He said the high level of cellular phone penetration - about 70 per cent of the population - and the unique attitude of the phone owners could make Hong Kong a big market for a mobile commerce business.

"In Hong Kong, if people find their mobile phones ringing, they stop everything they are doing to answer that call - even in a business meeting," Mr Surtees said.

He said that it seemed whoever could get through on the phone was assured of the owner's absolute attention.

The new service, he said, would not only be a replacement for cash and credit cards but also a tool "to add more freedom to both merchants, who want to sell to more people, and buyers who want to buy in a different way".

The plan was to extend the service elsewhere after its Hong Kong launch.