The HS Business & Finance web edition of last week reports that mobile operator Radiolinja and leading banks in Norway (Nordea Bank, Sampo Bank) will launch mobile cash. The mobile wallet will allow consumers to pay for various services with SMS messages.
Loading the wallet requires a transfers between the consumer's bank account and the mobile wallet. This is done free of charge. The minimum sum that must be loaded is five euros, and the maximum mobile balance can be 400 euros.
Compared with existing SMS payment systems, the major difference in the new system is that the payments are not made via the consumer's mobile phone bill. Many Finns with mobile phones as a prequisite are not allowed to purchase personal services with their mobile phones.
The announcement in my view demonstrates the inevitable trend towards bank-based sms-payments.
