Global StrategicAlliance will enable clients to deploy new mobile banking, payments and commerce solutions via the cloud to better engage customers

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Monitise (LSE: MONI) today announcedan expanded, multi-year global alliance to deliver cloud-based mobile commercesolutions to help financial services institutions embrace the mobile channel and better engage with customers.

Aspart of today’s news, the expansion of the alliance will bring together the IBM MobileFirst portfolio of offerings as well as IBM’s financial services and retail industry expertise with Monitise’s mobile banking and payments capabilities, spearheaded globally as an IBM Global Business Services’ initiative.

“As the market for mobile payments is expanding, we are continuing to invest in the IBM MobileFirst portfolio to address this opportunity,” said Steve Mills, Senior Vice President and Group Executive. “The combination of our capabilities with Monitise will provide value to our clients, enhance the customer experience and drive business growth.”

Financial institutions will gain access to data analytics to offer customers targeted servicessuch as in-store engagement and location-based offerings that empower timely decision making and convenience. Financial services providers will be able to deploy new digital and mobile money solutions while reducing costs and driving new revenue streams.

With increasing smartphone adoption around the world, the ubiquity of these devices has forever changed the way customers engage with banks and retailers. Additionally, with revenues from consumer-originated payments predicted to increase from $249 billion worldwide in 2012 to $460 billion in 2022¹, there are multiple opportunities for banks to capitalise on this growth via mobile money services.

“Mobile is increasingly becoming the primary way for us to bank, pay and buy. Central to our strategy and collaborations is a drive to enable the businesses we work with to adopt solutions that help them engage more effectively with existing customers and unlock new commercial opportunities,” said Alastair Lukies, Chief Executive of Monitise plc. “At a time when money is becoming more digitised, this strategic alliance with IBM will support financial institutions across the world in developing effective cloud-based strategies that make a real difference to consumers’ lives.”

Monitise will draw from the expertise and resources of the IBM ExperienceOne portfolio and Interactive Experience practice, which improve customer engagement by using data analytics to deliver relevant, personalised brand experiences. In addition, IBM and Monitise plan to collaborate with IBM Ready Apps, a suite of industry-specific, pre-configured apps that can be easily customised and deployed.

Monitise will also move its production hosting and cloud requirements to IBM, including SoftLayer. Clients will benefit in the future from Monitise’s adoption of IBM BlueMix, aflexible, cost-effective development environment, while developers will be able to gain access to Monitise capabilities through IBM’s developer ecosystem.