The ownership or underlying operating model of a mobile payments provider determines the range of services that it can offer and at what cost. Balance transfers or bill payments can easily be managed by a bank operator, while payment networks such as Visa and MasterCard already hold an advantage when it comes to offering electronic payments between financial institutions (FIs).
This status quo can make it hard for other firms to offer a compelling proposition to either merchants or retail customers. Inevitably, without the existing infrastructure or regulatory compliance to offer banking services, mobile payment providers that are not owned by FIs have to get creative.
