Mobile Entertainment Forum North America has launched the first edition of the MEF Guide to M-Commerce.

The $36 billion global mobile media industry is largely built on micropayments and MEF’s M-Commerce Initiative expands this opportunity to the retail and content industries with the launch of the M-Commerce Guide. It is a resource that brings together content and analysis showing all of the different ways that the mobile device can be used to enable commerce for content, services and products consumed both on and off the device.

“The MEF M-Commerce Guide is illustrated with case studies from Best Buy, FirstData, GlobalBay and BlackHawk Networks,” said Gary Schwartz, president/CEO of Impact Mobile Inc., New York, and chairman of MEF North America.

“There is clear consensus in the room that shopper adoption of the mobile wallet will advance mobile engagement in the store,” he said. “Additionally, retailers and financial service providers acknowledge that tethering payment options to the phone will accelerate security and privacy discussions.”

The Mobile Entertainment Forum is the global trade body of the mobile media and entertainment industry, representing companies throughout the mobile entertainment value chain.

M-Commerce Guide
The MEF member-authored guide contains case studies designed to help brands, content producers and retailers demystify, simplify and monetize the mobile commerce landscape.

The guide is available for download at the MEF Web site at http://www.m-e-f.org/.

The mobile device is changing the way consumers pay for content, goods and services.

To tackle the complexities of driving revenue through the mobile device, the guide breaks down the topic into manageable stages.

Channels such as mobile storefronts, application stores, SMS (text messaging) and Quick Response (QR) codes are reviewed, as well as transactional-related options including carrier billing, mobile wallet-based remote payments and vouchers and coupons.

In fact, 53 percent of consumers have a propensity to use their mobile handsets for financial transactions, according to KPMG Consumers and Convergence Study III 2009.

One out of every seven minutes of media consumption today takes place via mobile devices, according to a Universal McCann and AOL survey from the first quarter of 2009.

The guide has been authored with the leadership and invaluable support of the following MEF member companies: 2ergo, ADObjects, Billing Revolution, Boku, ngage2mobile, Impact Mobile, Inmar, KPMG, mBlox, Motorola, Netbiscuits, Nokia, Polar Mobile, Playphone, RIM, Samsung, Sybase 365, Synergy World, T-Mobile and Zong.

The Guide has been published with the support and sponsorship of Impact Mobile, Inmar, KPMG and mBlox.

“The MEF has provided leadership in the mobile commerce industry for over ten years, from the early ringtone economy through to more mature payment options,” Mr. Schwartz said. “MEF is focused on helping the industry drive revenue on or via the phone.

“Our scope has expanded—it now includes financial service providers, retailers and brands,” he said. “We are excited about this initial document and look forward to working with the industry to advance m-commerce adoption.”