Mobile Money Network sounds like a great name to me. I had started envisioning a new rap group and crazy videos but then found out that it has everything to do with payment transactions conducted through mobile phones. The Mobile Money Network (MMN) is a new UK retail alliance, created by Monetise, Best Buy Europe and Charles Dunstone, the founder of Carphone Warehouse. It aims to make mobile payments both easy and accessible, trying to get leading High Street retailers and financial institutions on board.

MMN introduces a new platform aimed at creating a single user experience, simplifying consumers’ interactions with retailers, advertisers and banks via their mobile phones. The first service it has launched is an app- and SMS-based mobile payments tool called Simply Tap which enables customers to buy things via their mobile, without having to enter their personal information or card details each time to carry out a mobile purchase.

These are the main benefits of a service like Simply Tap that I learned about:

1. For consumers – The promise of secure and simple transactions via your mobile.
2. For retailers – To be part of a network that uses a common mobile platform and being able to measure your sales via mobile.

Main learning point: I do firmly believe that mobile and other handheld devices form an important part of the future of (online) retail. The Mobile Money Network’s mission to improve the customer experience on mobiles and to provide retailers with a solid mobile platform is therefore a very exciting one. I’m curious to see how Simply Tap will fare and how any future MMN products will be adopted by consumers and retailers alike.

Related links for further learning:

http://www.intomobile.com/2011/04/02/uk-retailers-launch-mobile-payments-service-simply-tap/

http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/News/11214/Mobile_Money_Network_appoints_Sir_Stuart_Rose.aspx