Nokia enters mobile gadgets payment market

Nokia on Wednesday unveiled it was entering the emerging mobile gadgets payments market, as part of its push towards a new services-based strategy.
Users of some Nokia phones will be able to pay bills, make purchases and send money to other people through their handsets using a program called Nokia Money, set to debut early next year.
Mobile payments, is a fast-developing field, with a host of companies seeking to provide solutions to access what they term as the “mobile phone wallet”.
Companies such as Zong are developing mobile payments solutions that interface with social networks and virtual worlds, while others are seeking to provide electronic currency systems for the developing world.
Nokia sees a tremendous market opportunity in the developing world considering there are 4bn mobile phone users today, compared with 1.6bn bank accounts. But the growth of the system could be limited because it is a closed system, and may not interface with other payment systems.
The technology for the program is being supplied by Obopay, a Silicon Valley company that Nokia invested in earlier this year. Obopay also operates its own, more open mobile payments network that is accessible from a range of phones.
Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, is seeking to diversify its offerings in the face of declining handset sales. The news comes hot on the heels of an announcement that Nokia is also planning to enter the Netbook gadgets market, in a bid to raise investor confidence; the company has seen shares drop by 50% in the past year.