Four months after its inception, the Mobile Money Network (MMN) has appointed Sir Stuart Rose as non-executive chairman. He will give his first address at a major gathering of the UK’s biggest retailers, banks and media companies tomorrow. MMN has also announced the appointment of Lord Davies of Abersoch as a non-executive director. Lord Davies is the former Minister of State for Trade Promotion and Investment, and former chairman of Standard Chartered PLC.
The MMN event on 29 March will see MD John Milliken and chairman Sir Stuart Rose announce the details of its first service, ‘Simply Tap’, which is described as a “pioneering, common sense approach to buying products and services via a mobile phone”. Simply Tap will enable consumers with any mobile phone, on any mobile network and with any bank, to buy anything from the retailers signed up to the service, wherever they are.
Consumers will go through a one-off registration process that securely captures personal details, such as debit or credit card numbers and preferred delivery address. After registering, when a consumer sees a product they want in store, online or in any advert, they just need to type the product code in to the Simply Tap service through the mobile app or send it via SMS, and the product is then paid for and delivered using the saved details.
Simply Tap enables retailers to sell products from traditional print advertising more effectively, and to extend the range of products they can promote in store for home delivery. For consumers, it saves time when ordering products online. 
“The number of mobile subscribers across the globe has reached almost 5.5bn, with 750m in Europe. This represents a massive commercial opportunity for retailers if they can take advantage of it,” says MMN non-executive chairman, Sir Stuart Rose. “I am incredibly excited to be involved in the Mobile Money Network. It is a fresh concept set to act as a catalyst for three major industries – retail, banking and marketing. With Simply Tap, MMN is making the mobile a relevant, useful and fun part of an existing shopping experience. At a time when consumers are short of time but demanding instant gratification, this proposition delivers. The potential is huge, and I look forward to the journey.”
The Mobile Money Network is a joint venture between Monitise, Best Buy Europe and Carphone Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone. The vision is to bring together the best in mobile payments, marketing and banking innovations, putting the mobile device at the heart of the consumer shopping experience. The Mobile Money Network is already in discussions with 17 of the top 20 UK high street retailers and many leading financial institutions about the forthcoming roll-out, but there’s no go-live date as yet.
