By Gareth Vaughan
Mobile wallet Semble, which launched at the end of March, has attracted several thousand users thus far, CEO Rob Ellis says.
Ellis told interest.co.nz in a Double Shot interview things are going "really well" in the six weeks since launch.
Semble has undertaken a "soft launch" he said, meaning its marketing is very targeted.
"Targeted at people with the right phones, the right devices and people with the right banking relationships. That's starting to ramp up now, that marketing activity, and we'll increase that over the coming weeks and months."
Users require a Semble SIM card and an Android smartphone with near field communications (NFC) technology to enable them to make payments via contactless payments terminals. Semble has launched with ASB, BNZ, Spark, Vodafone, 2degrees and Paymark on board. Ellis said he expects to have at least one more bank come aboard this calendar year.
"We're talking to ANZ, Kiwibank, TSB, Co-op (Bank) and others that are perhaps more in the non-bank payments space. The sort of companies that might be included there are GE, for example, Fisher & Paykel Finance. There's a number of non-traditional bank card offerings out there which would be just as relevant in the Semble wallet," Ellis said.
In terms of ANZ and Westpac, which have both embarked on solo mobile wallet projects using cloud based host card emulation technology, Ellis said he hopes they ultimately become part of the Semble "journey."
"I think importantly it's not an either or scenario. You can have a mobile wallet application that is branded of a particular bank and has a particular technology behind it, but it's not to say that you can't also have cards in the Semble wallet. So we'll see how that unfolds."
ASB and Westpac, combined, have more than 25,000 customers making payments via Android and iPhone mobile phones with PayTag stickers stuck to them. Ellis said he views this as a transitional technology that complements Semble.
Just getting started
Ellis said the payments application, or app, that Semble is today is just the beginning. The end game is replacing the physical contents of the wallet and purse with digital versions that sit in the smartphone.
"Ultimately we're creating an eco-system, or a new virtual mobile marketplace, which is centred around a technology capability and technology infrastructure. You might even describe it as utility capability that any New Zealand company, importantly SMEs, can participate in and get access to the whole of the New Zealand market through the three major mobile network operators."
Areas of focus for 2015 include three service categories being transit, loyalty and what Ellis calls mobile marketing, being vouchers, coupons and offers. In the latter category Semble has a trial underway with Burger Fuel with offers that can be redeemed at Burger Fuel stores.
"Transit, of course, we're launching with Snapper in June and we're very excited about that. (And) we're talking to a lot of loyalty card providers about enabling their cards in one way shape or form into the Semble wallet," Ellis added.
Separately Ellis is keen to see a place for EFTPOS in Semble but acknowledges this isn't on the cards at this stage.
"We're a small part of the environment of various parties that would need to work together to bring together an EFTPOS solution for mobile, but we'd love to be a part of that if that came about," said Ellis. "I can't see it happening in the near-term as much as I'd like to see that, but I'm not driving that agenda, I'm a supporting voice for it."
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