29/3/11
By Scott Thompson
Sir Stuart Rose has been appointed non-executive chairman at the Mobile Money Network (MMN), a joint venture between Monitise, Best Buy Europe and Carphone Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone.
He will give his first address at a gathering today of UK retailers, banks and media companies.
MMN has also announced the appointment of Lord Davies of Abersoch as a non-executive director. Lord Davies is the former Minister of State for Trade Promotion and Investment, and former chairman of Standard Chartered.
Today’s gathering will see MD John Milliken and Sir Stuart announce the details of the venture’s first service, ‘Simply Tap’, which enables consumers with any mobile phone, on any mobile network and with any bank to buy from the retailers signed up to the service. Consumers will go through a one-off registration process that captures personal details, such as debit or credit card numbers and preferred delivery address. After registering, when a consumer sees a product they want in-store, online or in any advert, they type the product code in to the Simply Tap service through the mobile app or send it via SMS and the product is then paid for and delivered using the saved details.
“The number of mobile subscribers across the globe has reached almost 5.5 billion with 750 million in Europe. This represents a massive commercial opportunity for retailers if they can take advantage of it,” says Sir Stuart. “I am incredibly excited to be involved in the MMN. It is a fresh concept set to act as a catalyst for three major industries – retail, banking and marketing. With Simply Tap, MMN is making the mobile a relevant, useful and fun part of an existing shopping experience. At a time when consumers are short of time but demanding instant gratification, this proposition delivers. The potential is huge and I look forward to the journey.”
MMN is currently in discussions with 17 of the top 20 UK High Street retailers and a number of leading financial institutions about the forthcoming roll-out.
