FrecuenciaEvents announces Mobile Commerce Americas 2008, the conference and expo conceived to learn about, analyze, and provide incentives for opportunities offered by new mobile commerce technologies as tools for making payments and performing financial operations. This event will be devoted exclusively to the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets.

Service payments, money transfers abroad and others, personal cards, access to digital online content-- these are only a few of the options that are already operating in several Latin American countries and promise rapid adoption and growth in others.

According to a study conducted on this topic by Juniper Research, nearly 52 million consumers will adopt mobile payment models by 2011. In the U.S. alone, there will be 25 million subscribers using In-Stat services, and the Hispanic market will be the most likely to adopt these services in large numbers.

Meanwhile, the explosive growth of the market in Asia and the enterprises undertaken in Africa augur for an equally successful path for Latin America. The possibility of offering micropayments (less than five dollars) via mobile phones has earned an enthusiastic response from the industry, which sees in them ongoing day-to-day payments generating small revenues at the individual level but in huge volumes. These services range from buying a hamburger to paying for music or video downloads to phones, to buying a newspaper. They can be used by people that do not have bank accounts, which will significantly extend the penetration of financial services. Furthermore, unlike macropayments (for example, the purchase of electrical appliances), strict verification mechanisms are not needed, thus improving processing times and costs.

The growing penetration of portable devices, familiarity with services and the mobile environment ,and issues of practicality are also ever-stronger reasons for investing in this activity.

Confirmed speakers

Fabio Eiji Takeshita Maeda, Gerente de Produto, Vivo Jorge Krug, Ccso, Certified Security Officer,Superintendente da Unidade de Segurança de TI Banco do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul Jorge Suárez, Gerente de Marketing, Ancel Terry Lingren, Vice President of Engineering for Kyocera Wireless Corporation (KWC) Alejandro Hugo Díaz, Subgerente de SVA Empresas Movistar, Chile Mary Gramaglia, Director of Mobile Banking, Sybase Edgard Betts, Executive Director, Smart Card Alliance Latin America Isaac de la Peña Ambite, Senior Manager, Nokia S&S Kevin Gilick, Executive Director, GlobalPlatform German Martinez, Solution Sales, Gemalto Daniel Cobo, Latin America Solution Sales, Security Transactions, Gemalto Valentin Echeverry VP de Tecnologia y Operaciones de Redeban Douglas Villalobos Viales, Product Manager, MASbanking Pankaj Gulati, CEO, MoreMagic Solutions William A. Davies, VP & Counsel Standars and Licensing, RIM Hans Reisgies, Director of NFC Business Development of ViVOtech Ysbrant Marcelis, Head of Financial Mobility Team, Booz Allen Hamilton Raphik Ouahsine, Director, Mobile Marketing Americas Oberthur Technologies Francesc Pérez Cateura, Director de Desarrollo de Negocio de Latinia Michael Catalano, Executive Director, OpenRev,LLC Jorge Partidas, CEO, WAU Frank Rhoades, Director of Mobile Commerce Business Development for Tata Communications Enio Stein, Strategic Planning Director, Paggo Einar Rosenberg, CTO, Narian Technologies Douglas Wallace, Director de Tecnología de Symantec América Latina Daniel Nuñez de Oliveira, Business Development Director, Smartcon Adlane Fellah, Eng. MBA is CEO and founder of Maravedis Inc Andres Narvaez, Service Product Manager Business Support Systems, Nokia Siemens Network, Latin America Sean Moshir, CEO, CellTrust Corporation Alejandra Etcharran, Industry Analyst - Americas, Information & Communication Technologies, Frost & Sullivan Mads Galsgaard, Chief Marketing Officer of Inmobia Mobile Technology Marco Aurélio Garib, President and CEO, EverMobile (The EverSystems Group)       Albert Comas, Gerente General, MobilCash LC, USA

Money transfers from abroad are an unparalleled business opportunity for the mobile phone industry. During 2006, some 150 million immigrants around the world sent money back to their families in their countries of origin: more than US$300 billion! Of this total, Latin America contributed US$68.06 billion, according to data from the first world map of remittances, the result of a study conducted jointly by the United Nations and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

A typical transfer of US$200 costs approximately US$15 to US$26, according to 2005 figures compiled by the International Monetary Fund. However, if progress is made towards a common system for mobile phones and the project proves successful, by 2012 the number of transfer recipients could be doubled to more than 1.5 billion people, and the size of the market could increase four-fold, from US$230 billion to more than one trillion dollars, according to GSMA data.

In this context, the Hispanic market is the most immediate, the most advanced, and the most promising. The transfers made by Hispanic workers in the United States alone total a little more than $62 billion per year, according to Inter-American Development Bank estimates. Likewise, the money transfers sent from the United States constitute Mexico’s second largest source of income, following oil exports. (Mexico is Latin America’s largest recipient of money transfers, and one of the largest in the world, together with China and India.)

According to CGAP, a consortium of organizations geared to expanding access to financial services for low-income people, 59% of the more than two trillion mobile phone users, live in developing countries, and many of them are not within the banking system.

Therefore, the possibility of offering transactions via cell phones (which could cost six times less than an operation at a bank-teller window) is, without doubt, an advantage that the industry cannot ignore.

A recent survey cited by Sybase 365, conducted among the world’s largest financial institutions, revealed that there is great enthusiasm for mobile banking services. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed considered mobile banking an excellent opportunity for enhancing customer service.

In addition, more than half of the banks surveyed noted that they would be offering mobile services within the next 12 to 24 months.

Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil are some of the countries that have already begun to offer financial payment services of this kind.

Argentina and Brazil are leading the way in applying mobile telephony to banking services in Latin America, where one out of every three financial institutions already offers them. According to a study done by Latinia, an SMS messaging platform manufacturer, among the 100 major financial institutions in Latin America, 38% of these banks offer mobile services to their customer base.

Among these services, special mention should be made of those that utilize SMS messaging, which is a technology used by 76% of the banks, in the form of either alerts or queries.

The country rankings continue with Chile, Mexico and Venezuela, which place at the top in “mobile banking,” with 8, 6, 6, 5 and 4 entities, respectively, or 75% of the total.

In Colombia there is already a mobile banking service that involves private enterprises, GSM network operators and the major banks. In Peru, mobile payment services with cash payment options already have more than 400 points of sale in 27 cities.

• Outlook for m-commerce markets among Latin Americans and Hispanics in the U.S.
• Standards and technologies -Near Field Communications (NFC), 'Pay-Buy Mobile' . Bluetooth, ZigBee, UWB, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Infrared
• Innovations in contactless transactions and solutions in the Region
• Micropayments and mass services
• Macropayments and high-end services
• Regulatory and financial implications
• Mobile transfers and remittances in the U.S. Hispanic market
• Innovations in mobile cards, SIMs, etc.
• Advances in open standards for devices equipped for m-commerce
• M-commerce operators’ role in ensuring higher ARPUs
• Bill-paying: PayPal, Google, Western Union Latino, etc.
• Mobile banking platforms and solutions suitable for the Region
• Keys to implementing a successful system in Latin America
• Case studies on mobile banking in various Latin American countries
• Keys to achieving successful alliances with industry players and successful entry into the business of mobile payments
• Up-to-date findings on consumption and service preferences in the Region
• User-oriented marketing

• Because it will be the first and only gathering that will bring together all of the players in the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets for mobile banking and mobile payment systems.
• Because you will learn first-hand about the banking initiatives and mobile transfers that are currently operating in the Region and will learn from their mistakes and from their sound decisions.
• Because you will learn first-hand about the banking initiatives and mobile transfers that are currently operating among U.S. Hispanic consumers and the strategies to reach them.
• Because the industry changes quickly and alliances are now being formed. You can become familiar with all of the m-commerce industry’s value chain and get involved.
• Because you will learn about the best and most successful user-oriented mobile banking strategies and will be able to visualize particular cultural and social traits and capitalize on them.
• Because you will find out exactly which m-commerce markets have the greatest future in the Region and will be able to distinguish opportunities to enter the Hispanic market successfully.
• Because you will have access to the latest research and surveys on preferences and business models.
• Onsite multimedia coverage instantly disseminated to more than 18,000 readers throughout the Americas

3G Data Soluciones C.A., 7EFE, 9 Squared, Inc, Access US, Inc, Acotel Latam, Acquamedia Technologies, S.L, Aeromexico, AGM Telecom, AHCIEM Chile, Air2Web, Inc., AirG, aKos Technology Corporation, Alliance Atlantis, Alo Comunications, AMA Advanced Mobile Applications, American Idol Fremantle.Media, USA, Andinatech, Andrews McMeel Universal-UPS, Antel Uruguay, Arena Mobile, ARVATO MOBILE BRAZIL, AXALTO, Azteca America, Bamboo MediaCasting, Barrio305, BBC World Services, BCGI Payment, Billboard Magazine, Binbit, Blinck International, Bloomberg LP, Blue Tech, Boston Communications Group Inc., BrainMedia, Brasil Telecom, Brian Media LLC, Brickhouse Mobile, Brightstar Corp., Buongiorno My Alert, By Cycle Latam, Cable & Wireless, Cable & Wireless Panama, Caracol Television, Cartoon Network Latin America, Celmedia, CGCT DELTA Ingenieria Integral, Chikka Philippines, Inc., CIE, CIE Interactivo, Cineclick, Class A, Claxson, ClearSky Mobile Media, CNN International, CODICE, CommGuide International, Inc, Compera, Brasil, Comunitel S.A., Conectium Limited, Conectium Limited, Venezuela, Contenido Móvil Américas 2006, Corporación Digitel GSM, Cosmic Infinity, Cyclelogic, Dasigno, DASIGNO S.A, Dasigno S.A., Digital Orchid Inc., Digitel Venezuela, Dinama, Discovery Latin America, Discovery Networks Latinamerica LCC, Dydcom Chile, EA Mobile, Ei Movil, Ei Movil Brasil, EMI Music Latin America, EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING, Endemol International, Entel Chile S.A., Entel PCS, Entel PCS Chile, Esmas.com, EverMobile, EVERSYSTEMS, EverSystems, Brasil, Exit Games, Fox Latin America, Fox Latin America Channel, Fox Sports Interactive Media, USA, Fun Mail Inc., GameRecruiter.com, Inc., Gemalto, Genexies, Mobile USA, GenPlay Games, Giant Mobile, Glenayre, Glomobi, Glu Mobile, USA, Grafismo CxA, Grupo Bakke SA de CV, H3G Italy, HBO Latin America Group, Hispanic, Hispanic Market News, Hoodiny, Huawei Technologies co., ltd., Hudson Entertainment, ICE, IDC Latin America, IDC Latin America Research and Consulting, IDT -TuYo Mobile, USA, IEC, IMImobile, In Motion, InfoSpace, Inmobia Entertainment, INTECH, Intercasting, InterOP Technologies, It Games, IUSACELL, Jamba! GmbH, Juice Wireless, JumpTv.com, Kingston, KT Freetel Korea, ktc, Kyocera Wireless, Corp., LatCel, LatCel WAU, Lucent Technologies, Lunavi Mobile, M Qube, Maravedis, Mario Tapia Associates, mBlox Inc., Mediaplazza, Merlin Telecom, Metromovil, Miami Wireless Associates, Midem, MINICK Group, M-Joy Networks, Mobifusion, Inc, Mobile de Claxon, Mobile Dreams Factory, Mobile Streams Inc., MobiTV, MOBIVAL, MocoNews, MOOOBILE, Motricity, Movida Cellular, Movida Movil, Móvil de Entel Bolivia, Movistar Ecuador, Movistar Guatemala, Movistar, Venezuela, MoWA Mobile Wireless Applications Informatica Ltda, MS Corp, MS Corp Venezuela, MSCorp LLC, MTV Latinoamérica, USA, MTV Networks Latina America, MULTIMUSIC S.A. DE C.V., MUSIC INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS, Naranya Colombia, Neomtel.com, Net People, Net People Internacional, Venezuela, Net People International, Netsize Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Neustar, New Frontier Media, NII Holdings, Inc., NMS Communications USA, Nokia, Nokia Technologies Institute, Ntime, Nvia, NVIA GESTION DE DATOS, S.L., Ogangi Corp, OKTO, Orange Mobile Group, Pali Research, PERSONAL MUSIC, Pontis Ltd., Proteus, Publicar, Pyramid Research, Qmobile, QUALCOMM, Quattro Mobile SA, Radio & Records, Razz, RCN Radio, Real Madrid, RealNetworks, Remoba Inc, Roundbox Inc., Russian Mobile Entertainment, Satelco, SBSystems, Sega, SkyZone, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television International, Sony/ATV Music, Sprint, SunCom, Superscape, TBS Latin America, TecToy Mobile, Teleco, Telecom Personal, Argentina, Telefónica Móviles Colombia S.A., Telefónica Móviles Ecuador, Telefónica Móviles, Chile, Teleglobe, Telephia Inc., Televisa, Televoz, TERRA, Terra Networks, Terra Networks Brasil SA, Terra Networks USA, THQ Wireless, Tiempos del Mundo, Tierra Innovation, Tierra Innovation, Inc., TIM Brasil, Topp Allians, Totaltek, T-Systems North America Inc., Deutsche Telekom, Twistbox, Twistbox Entertainment, UClick, Ultraproducts, Unefon, UNEFON, Universal Music MOBILE, Universal Music MOBILE Colombia- Ecuador-Peru- Venezuela, University of Southern California, Univision Communications, Univision Online, UpMobile, Valorem, Venevision International, VeriSign Inc., ViVa! Vision, Vivendi Universal Games Mobile, VIvo, Vocel, VOCEL, USA, VSNL International, WAAT Media, WapOneline, Warner Music Group, WAU / LatCel, WAU MOBILE- Mexico, Weathernews Inc., West Management, Inc., Wmode, World Wrestling Entertainment, XCEL, X-STREAM NETWORKS S.A. DE C.V., X-tream Networks, Yahoo!, Yavox, YellowPepper Wireless, ZiqX.com