Kristin R. MoyerChristophe Uzureau and Stessa Cohen here. Sybase announced today that it is acquiring Paybox. Beyond the technology knowhow brought to Sybase via the Paybox acquisition, there is an important potential mindset contribution. Since Paybox has been around since 1999, they had gone through several iterations, moving from a branded B2C service to a mobile solution provider, following a divestment from Deutsche Bank in December 2002. Due to their presence in Europe, they faced firsthand the hype surrounding mobile payment systems in the early 2000s. They may therefore bring to the table an understanding of the challenges facing mobile payment solution providers, notably in terms of business model and consumer adoption. This may not be sufficient to succeed in this space, but Sybase will have a shot at dealing with the current hype, especially in the US market.
Another consideration for Sybase clients and prospects is how Sybase is going to use this acquisition to deliver on an enterprise mobile financial services solution. Gartner advises banks that they need to ensure that they don’t create new operational silos by neglecting to integrate mobile banking and payment services with other channels and payment instruments. The integration of Paybox will test the ability of Sybase to achieve an enterprise vision on behalf of its clients.
The Paybox acquisition also demonstrates how difficult it is to make money from mobile payment systems. We expect more M&A activity among mobile banking and payment solution providers in the coming year as funds become more difficult to raise. But there is a more fundamental rationale for the coming consolidation: many providers have overestimated the business case while underestimating the quality and agility of the payment platform they need to bring to the market.
2009 may not be the year of mobile payments, but it’s the year where solution providers can correct their vision and redeem themselves.
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Category: Uncategorized payments Tags: banking and investment services, mobile banking, mobile financial services, mobile payments, paybox, sybase
