| MasterCard pilots SMS consultancy for UK banks |
| Friday, 28 February 2003 | |
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New Media Age, March 2003 - MasterCard has launched several pilot schemes for a new SMS consultancy service aimed at UK banks and retailers. The credit card giant is rolling out its MasterCard SMS programme across Europe a year after beginning work with its member banks on mobile marketing campaigns. It has drawn up shorlists of recommended SMS marketing agencies in each country. A spokeswoman for MasterCard said Flytxt was the only mobile marketing firm recommended in the UK.As well as banks, the service is aimed at retailers and companies developing co-branded cards. MasterCard wouldn't say who is taking part in the initial pilots, but it is promising to help evaluate an implement complete SMS campaign. The card company has also issued a code of practice for banks wanting to use SMS. In what it claims is the first such code for the finance sector, it recommends getting permission from cardholders, agreeing message delivery times and acceptable types of text message, such as alerts or coupons. Brian Morris, head of e-business MasterCard Europe, claimed it was "just the beginning of a new marketing tool in the financial sector." Lars Becker, CEO of Flytxt, said "The financial services industy has been very cautious with SMS. We think it has tremendous potential." Flytxt has done some work with Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland before, "but this is on a different scale," he said. There are also fraud prevention measures included in the system, with banks able to send SMS alerts to cardholders for large or suspicious transactions. The card holder can then ask the bank to block the card if they haven't made the purchase. © Copyright Flytxt Ltd 2006. Unauthorized use of any content constitutes a material breach. |
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