Technology
solutions provider emaimai is set to launch it 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 finalized 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 it Hong Kong launch.
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