VocaLink needs to play an active role in
helping banks develop mobile payments products, said VocaLink’s
newly-appointed managing director of strategy and business
development, Paul Stoddart.
Stoddart, who is responsible for corporate
strategy, product development and identifying new market
opportunities for the UK payments processor, will lead the project
to provide infrastructure for the UK Payments Council’s mobile
payments platform.
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This mobile payments platform will map mobile
phone numbers to account details and make the database
available to banks.
Stoddart does not see VocaLink’s role as
simply delivering the platform and leaving the banks to drive its
application. He sees his role as more collaborative and
consultative.
Asked about the challenge of building the
infrastructure for a P2P mobile payments platform, Stoddart said
that “delivering the gateway is actually relatively
straightforward”.
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By GlobalDataApplication of m-payments platform a
challenge
Stoddart explained:
“The challenge comes when you consider how
that capability might be applied – that’s where it gets really
interesting. We already play a primary role in the economy –
running BACS and Faster Payments – and as such spend a lot of time
engaging with banks, not to mention the government and other major
stakeholders, on how they might be applied,” he said.
“It is fascinating to watch the way
established e-commerce players like Google, Amazon and eBay are
reacting to developments in mobile payments technology,” he said.
“There is still a lot of experimentation around business
models.”
Stoddart said that that there is also
potential for VocaLink to play a more active role in the shaping of
the products being developed.
“We are well-positioned to offer insight and
advice – and we have the experience and the credibility. We also
have the people,” he said. “We just need to develop our abilities
to deliver.”
Expert knowledge
Stoddart joins VocaLink from Barclays Bank,
where he was responsible for M&A and Asset Disposals for
Barclaycard. Prior to this, Stoddart was part of the leadership
team and responsible for strategic development at RBS WorldPay
prior to its acquisition by Advent International & Bain
Capital.
Since the appointment of David Yates as CEO
last year, VocaLink has made moves to focus its strategy, shifting
away from the EU cross-border payments processing and concentrating
on the UK domestic market.
“David has bought a very commercial element to
VocaLink,” said Stoddart. “I am excited about the energy the
company has.
“In my role at BarclayCard, and previously at
WorldPay, I looked at a lot of payments assets around the world. I
found that there were very few of genuinely high quality, but this
company clearly is.
“However, we need a new strategy for a new
banking environment. It is important that we continue to work to
understand developing needs of the banks as they come under
increasing pressures from shareholders and customers.”
