This article will examine current developments in this particular area of m-commerce service offerings and the potential benefits to both providers and customers. The ability to deliver financial services electronically is now open to a broader range of service providers than ever before. Outside the offering of traditional banking services, other financial service organisations are gearing up to enter the mobile commerce market place. Companies offering insurance, mortgages, consumer loans, financial advice and credit cards will soon be offering products such as instant insurance, immediate loan and mortgage quotations, and tailored financial advice. The lead for the provision of mobile financial services has been, and continues to be driven, from Scandinavia where the large telecoms providers are based.
Telecoms companies have both a captive audience and an existing delivery channel.
The early adopters have developed and introduced comprehensive mobile financial services and continue to lead the way. Overcoming the barriers The UK, Germany and Spain are following this lead by launching services to the market at a rate of knots, albeit it 'Internet extensions'. However, whereas the single currency has opened up cross-border trade opportunities in Europe, the geographical boundaries remain to be crossed for mobile financial services. At present, it is cost prohibitive to access financial services provided in one country from another country via a mobile device. This, therefore, is currently restricting the cross-border capabilities that the Internet currently provides.