RCom, Financial Tech to sign m-commerce agreement

Integrated telecommunications service provider Reliance Communications (RCom) is in advanced stages of negotiations with Atom Technologies, a group company of NSE-listed Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL), for a mobile commerce (M-commerce) agreement. If signed, RCom expects total revenues of around Rs 800 crore over the next three years, sources close to the development told Business Standard. The tie-up is part of RCom’s thrust to enable new revenue streams from m-commerce. The agreement will enable RCom to offer mobile-enabled transactions across Indian and foreign banking institutions. The Anil Ambani group company will offer an inter-operable payment platform Reliance Mobile (its GSM brand). Atom will offer RCom multiple banks (Indian and Foreign) and merchants on a common platform, thereby allowing its subscribers to make payments across all merchant bases. On its part, Atom technologies will offer RCom subscribers an enabling environment to purchase insurance services, DTH recharges, movie tickets, books and periodicals, consumer goods, holiday packages and bus and train tickets. At present, Atom Technologies has over 100 merchants registered for m-commerce transactions. When contacted an RCom spokesperson confirmed the development. “Our discussions with Atom Technologies are part of our m-commerce thrust to offer value propositions and enhance overall mobile experience of over 80 million Reliance Mobile subscribers in the country,” he said. He, however, declined to comment on the financial details and revenue expected in case of the deal being signed. 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. NSE-listed FTIL offers technology Intellectual Property (IP) and domain expertise for financial exchanges (like equities, commodities, currency and debt). At present, it owns and operates 10 national and international exchanges across Africa, Middle East, India and South East Asia.