GFG GROUP - NEWS ARCHIVES - 2007
New Zealand company develops ground breaking mobile payments software
10 May 2007 - reprinted with the kind permission of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
New Zealand payments software company GFG Group is flourishing on the back of global demand for its leading-edge technology that gives access to banking-level payment capability through a mobile phone. GFG's software allows payments to be made securely from a mobile phone in the same way as a credit or EFTPOS card. By converging mobile phone technology with its established cards-based payments software, GFG has effectively created a virtual bank account that can be operated via a mobile phone.
The technology is being sold to telecommunications companies in economies such as North America, responding to demand from customers for payments to be made any time, anywhere. Other sales have been made in Asia and the Middle East. GFG Group has more than 50 customers worldwide and turnover of between NZ$10 million and NZ$20 million. Revenue in the 2006 financial year was up more than 50 percent.
Its growth has been supported by investment from the New Zealand Government, both for research and development, and to develop a go-to-market strategy with help from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. GFG Group has also had venture capital investment from Endeavour Capital and Direct Capital.
Product development
GFG was founded in the early 1990s by a group of consultants working in the banking and finance sector. Their particular expertise was in developing and implementing a card-based payments system. More than 20 years experience in developing successful card management software has been key to enabling GFG to be first to market with its unique mobile payments product.
The company initially focused on research and development. Its software was owned by the ASB Bank and marketed internationally by global IT giant Unisys Corporation. In 2003 the intellectual property was transferred back to GFG Group, which then transformed itself from a consulting and services company to a software company specialising in payments.
Recently GFG launched a fully re-engineered and rebranded set of software products, Cadencie™ (for card payments) and Simfonie™ (for mobile payments). This brings together its card and mobile payments product offerings into a new integrated architecture designed to support virtually any payment device, ranging from credit cards to mobile phones.
Global endorsement
International credibility and recognition has been earned by GFG's work with Smart Communications in the Philippines. This resulted in Smart Money, a highly-sophisticated mobile payments services now used by more than 80 percent of Smart's 22 million subscribers.
It has been particularly successful there, says GFG Group Sales and Marketing Manager Marie Tamplin, because of the millions of Filipinos working overseas who want to send money home.
"A Filipino maid working in New York, for example, can send money back to her father, who might be working in a far flung location, but will receive a text message within a few minutes saying his account has been credited. He can then go to a number of accredited retail outlets - 7-Eleven and McDonald's are common ones - to withdraw cash. A transaction like this would normally cost up to $20 but with Smart's service it costs just a couple of dollars."
Ms Tamplin says around 80 percent of the world's population, including 12 percent of households in the US, do not have access to basic financial services. "Even where people do have bank accounts there is pressure to make paying for goods or paying bills as simple and fast as possible. We are in a sweet spot in terms of what we can deliver via mobile with the technology we have developed."
GFG Group also sees big opportunities for using mobile phones to deliver microfinancing - small loans offered development agencies and the like - to help individuals break out of the poverty cycle. Difficulty in accessing the loans, which has traditionally been one of the stumbling blocks of microfinancing, could be solved with GFG Group's mobile phone technology.
Experience
Having solid banking experience at its core is what gives GFG Group its edge. "We are banking experts not telecommunications experts so our staff understand the complexities involved in managing people's financial affairs, something mobile operators don't always appreciate. GFG has been able to act as a broker, mopping the brows of the bankers and helping to ensure everything from service to security can be guaranteed," says Ms Tamplin.
GFG is growing rapidly with staff numbers at 65, up from 30 three years ago, and further expansion likely as global sales increase. The company is accredited by the World Bank. GFG's mobile commerce technology won the company the TUANZ Telecommunications Mobile Application of the Year Award in 2006.
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