Vodafone has gained 210,000 users of its Smartpass in Italy since the mobile wallet was launched a year ago and it is adding 500 to 1,000 users per day, according to chief executive Vittorio Colao.
Speaking at last month’s Mobile World Congress, the chief executive announced that Vodafone will make the wallet available across Europe, after having already launched Smartpass in Turkey.
Without specifying any details, Colao also announced that Vodafone will set up NFC-enabled SIMs in five markets.
With the expansion of mobile wallets, Colao called for the mobile industry and banks to define common standards for mobile money. This could help prevent fragmentation as Asia and Europe adopt different models for electronic payments.
In an appeal to the financial institutions Colao claimed that common standards are necessary, in order to create "a simple experience that maximises what subscribers can do".
If common standards for mobile money are implemented, it could improve the capabilities of new technology, like mobile wallets and prepaid cards.
Looking more broadly at m-commerce, Colao divided the market into two parts: a payments side and a more diverse side, covering areas such as coupons.
The chief executive based this analysis on Vodafone’s recent acquisition of a controlling stake in Vouchercloud, Europe’s leading mobile coupon firm with 2.5 million users. Colao noted that the potential for fast growth in this part of the market is exceptionally high: Vouchercloud, as a key example, managed to attract 150.000 users in the Netherlands, within two months.
