Reliance Communications has entered into a strategic tie-up with atom technologies, the leading m-commerce solutions provider from the Financial Technologies India Limited group.

With this partnership RCOM will now be able to offer a fast, secure, inter-operable and the most convenient platform to conclude payment transactions using Reliance Mobile. atom will offer through RCOM, multiple banks as well as merchants on a common platform, thereby allowing its subscribers to make payments across the entire merchant base. Reliance subscribers will now be able to purchase insurance services, DTH recharges, movie tickets, books & periodicals, consumer goods, holiday packages as well as bus & train tickets using their Reliance Mobile connection, these services will also be available on R-world for all GSM customers. Currently atom technologies have over 100 merchants registered for mobile commerce transactions.

This is part of RCOM’s major thrust to enable new revenue streams from m-Commerce. Reliance Communications is designing this service to support Guest users as well as Registered Users to successfully conclude payment transactions using Reliance Mobile connections. The benefit of registration will enable the user for two click payment transactions access. The transactions are secure and PIN protected. atom presently has merchant acquiring relationship with ICICI, HDFC, Citi and Axis Bank.

While m-Commerce is in its nascent stages, it is slated to boom over the next few years with growing sophistication and lower prices of mobile handsets. Currently, users of m-Commerce perform a wide variety of transactions via mobile from paying for utility bill & movie tickets to shopping & holidays. While the uptake of mobile payments is still gathering pace, services that are more accessible and easier to use are finding favor. RCOM tie-up with atom Technologies is expected to drive nearly 30% of the m-Commerce traffic volume across its GSM and CDMA networks.

Piru Mandal/ITVoir Network