In the last ten years or so, the telecom sector in India has seen a tremendous increase in the number of subscribers. Due to many handset and mobile service providers competing for this large market, the wireless telephone subscriber base has shot up. India is now the second largest consumer in the worldwide telecom market, China being the first.

With this steep rise of users with access to at least basic mobile telephones, comes in the possibility of The Mobile Payment Gateway. Once a very farfetched notion to have the mobile phone act as a wallet, has now become possible with the advent of several mobile service providers offering this feature to their customers at very affordable prices.

A recent entrant to this market is Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of BhartiAirtel. Their new service,

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airtel Africa, Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard Worldwide today announced the launch of the world’s first virtual card that operates off a wallet residing on a mobile phone. This innovative payment method known as airtel 1time Shopping Card will offer communities the opportunity for greater participation in the financial system as they realize the substantial benefits of mobile commerce. This single use shopping card will soon be available in Kenya and rolled out to markets across Africa, subject to regulatory approvals.

The mobile technology platform and airtel’s vast consumer penetration combined with the financial structure and regulatory framework provided by Standard Chartered Bank and the global acceptance of MasterCard will ensure that consumers will be able to transact in a reliable, convenient and secure environment. Read more »