Singapore - The 3rd Greater Mekong Mobile Payments & Banking Summit 2012 (www.magenta-global.com.sg) will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 12 – 13 July 2012. The third in the series, this Summit is the strategic platform for all industry stakeholders to congregate & discuss the latest developments in mobile payments in the growing affluent economies of Thailand, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Southern China and emerging Myanmar.

According to an IFC report, Thailand is already experiencing high growth rate in the use of debit and credit cards, even in the lower income group. Coupled with the widespread usage of mobile phones, the solution for conducting financial transaction in the country would very well be a combination of mobile phone, debit card, credit card and prepaid card. Successful examples of such mobile money providers are: TrueMoney, a subsidiary of True Corporation; Advanced MPay, a subsidiary of Advanced Info Service (AIS); and a partnership between DTAC, a mobile network operator (MNO) and Kasikorn Bank (K-Bank).

The Summit will see telecom operators and banks come together to capitalize on the high mobile penetration to monetise their mobile payments solution by reaching out to new customers and driving transaction efficiency.

Key topics to be addressed at the Summit include the latest updates on mobile payments regulatory frameworks in the Greater Mekong region, new innovation on mobile payment services, deployment of mobile payments technology & best practices, integration of mobile coupons and mobile payments data to achieve transaction efficiency, mobile wallet and more.

Organizations presenting at the Summit include State Bank of Vietnam, Wing Cambodia, Bank of the Lao PDR, Western Union, VISA Worldwide, City Cell, CamGSM, Virgin Mobile, BICS, Octopus, Tarad.com and more.

PayCre8 of New Zealand and Software Group of Bulgaria will be demonstrating their product innovations at the Summit.

Maggie Tan, CEO of Magenta Global commented” With the proliferation of various mobile devices which are becoming an integral part of consumer’s daily lives, banks and telcos must work closely together to provide consumers and merchants with more payment options. Some exciting innovations will be presented at this Summit. The Greater Mekong region is expected to see explosive growth in the near future.” She invited all banks, financial institutions, telecoms, manufacturers & merchants to participate at this Summit to pave the way for the deployment of mobile payments which are gathering huge momentum.

The Summit will be held at Mövenpick Hotel Saigon.