Why can’t I buy that with my phone? Haas Mobile Money Conference to Explore the Answers, Oct. 11

Although smart phones are becoming ubiquitous among adults and even teens, these powerful devices still lose out to the lowly wallet in our pockets and purses when it comes to making retail transactions.

The steps needed to overcome this conundrum, particularly in the United States, will be examined by entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics, and government researchers at the Mobile Money Conference Oct. 11 in the Haas School's Wells Fargo room. The event is sponsored by the Haas School's Institute for Business Innovation and the Center for Research in Telecommunications Policy.

Titled "Igniting Mobile Payments Plantforms," the morning keynote address will be delivered by David Evans, author of the book Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing. Evans is the chairman on the Global Economics Group in the firm's Boston office and is an expert in the economics of antitrust, intellectual property, and financial regulation.

The event also will feature a panel discussion on lessons from the developed and developing world, with studies of mobile money systems in Tanzania, South Africa, and Japan. An industry leaders roundtable discussion will feature executives from Visa; JPMorgan Chase; and Wipit, a mobile wallet platform. One participant, Bill Gajda, Visa's head of global mobile products, was named one of the top 11 most influential people in mobile payments by MobilePaymentsToday.com.

The event is being organized by Glenn Woroch, an adjunct professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Economics and executive director of the Center for Research on Telecommunications Policy, a multi-university research and outreach program.

For more information on the Mobile Money Conference, visit businessinnovation.berkeley.edu/Mobile_Money. To register, visit mobile-money.eventbrite.com.

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