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"Will cash become obsolete? (Next-next generation electronic and mobile payments in Japan)"

By Dr Gerhard Fasol
Not many items are physically closer to everyone's hearts than money and mobile phones - and increasingly Japanese consumer's cash is stored as e-money in smart cards and in mobile phones. Electronic money already amounts to 2% of the value of Japan's coins and banknotes, and many transactions are via near-field communications (NFC).
Japan's e-money and mobile payment systems point the way how things are likely to develop around the world - at the same time Japan's "Galapagos effect" has prevented Japanese companies from building global businesses based on these technologies. The speaker is currently the only non-Japanese working on a Japanese industry/Government/academia committee to overcome this "Galapagos effect".
The talk will explain the key characteristics and trends of e-cash and mobile payments in Japan, and will make predictions on where e-cash and mobile payments might move globally, based on Japan's pioneering developments. More about electronic money and mobile payments: http://www.eurotechno...

Presenters:

Dr Gerhard Fasol ( http://fasol.com/... ) is entrepreneur working in Tokyo/Japan since 1991. He helped to set up NTT's first international R&D cooperation in 1984, and has been working with Japan's high-tech sector ever since.

Fasol's company Eurotechnology Japan KK ( http://www.eurotechno... ) has advised countless companies on M&A, strategy and market entry to Japan, helped a European pharmaceutical company acquire a factory in Japan. Fasol has advised more than 100 investment fund managers, the President of Germany, US Senator Jeff Bingaman, and many CEOs.

Fasol speaks regularly on CNBC ( http://fasol.com/CNBC... ) and is currently the only non-Japanese member of a top-level Japanese industry / government / academia committee working on the future of Japan's mobile phone industry, and especially it's globalization.

Fasol graduated with a PhD in Physics from Cambridge University/Trinity College. Gerhard wants to build your high-tech business in/with Japan!

Olivier Desjeux, CEO Ingecom.

Olivier Desjeux is the CEO and founder of INGECOM. He holds an Engineering degree from the Ecole Française d’Electronique et d’Informatique (Paris) and an MS in project management and quality from the Institut de Gestion Sociale (Paris). His research interests include low-power radio frequency development with an emphasis on radio localization. He is involved in the RFID business “since ever” with strong track records; While acting as business development manager of the RFID business unit of EM Microelectronic Marin, he was one of the active member of the EPC Hardware Action Group for the definition of the EPC C1G2 specification. Olivier has published in several medias and filed 15 patents related to the RFID, most of them being granted.

INGECOM is a Swiss company who has built one of the most advanced Active Tag technologies available today. The products compare to the competition with better performance and lower costs. Founded in 2005, INGECOM is already on the market with a significant portfolio of recognized industrial customers, like Siemens, Schneider-Electric, GE. Other significant customer acquisition is on the way. According to the analysts, the targeted market has an estimate 35% CAGD over the next 5 years. The sales are done through a network of partners, mainly across the whole Europe, each with specialities in the different verticals and countries.

Louis Bianchin, Regional Sales Director North America, Watchdata Technologies.

Mr. Bianchin will cover the deployment by Watchdata of the First “3-in-1, Super-combi” Card in Singapore. It was launched with DBS Bank & Visa in August 2009. It is compliant with several standards such as CEPAS, VSDC & Visa payWave . It allows users to use it as a contactless transit card but also a e-purse for low value payments (without signature) in many shops in Singapore. But it is also a standard EMV credit/debit card.

Mr. Bianchin will also speak about a new revolutionizing NFC bridging solution (SIMpass) which will allow a non NFC cell phone to gain NFC functionality , without waiting for the MNOs or handset suppliers to offer such functionality. This is not a sticker-based approach. This solution is deployed today, in commercial, real world environments in GuanZhou, Choquing, and Bangkok. This was done in cooperation with large MNOs in their countries (China Unicom, China Mobile, True Move). In these countries Mobile operators are leading the charge with their own e-Purse payment features. They also view the Transport function as a “killer app” to enable broader mobile payment adoption. Watchdata has observed as well that custom-made handsets could be manufactured with SIM embedded for markets where large MNOs have the muscle to dictate these features to their suppliers. Mr. Bianchin will have samples of SIMpass and the combi-card.

Mr. Bianchin is a seasoned professional in the Smart Cards & RFID market , with many years of experience in marketing, consulting, project/program management and sales . He is a graduate of Boston University.