In the development of mobile payment systems, banks have three strategic assets: expertise in handling financial transactions, bank accounts, and brand image. The paper refers to the first asset as “banking systems.” Bank accounts are strategic because they contain customers’ financial information and because of the relationships banks have with their customers. Each of these strategic assets has limited substitutability, and each is inimitable and difficult to trade. Banking systems are also durable in the sense that they take a long time to become established. These strategic assets give banks a strong competitive advantage in the mobile payment ecosystem.

Two resources or capabilities possessed by banks that are not strategic assets in mobile banking are risk management expertise and a banking license. For these resources, a credit card company or a telco can develop a substitute. The three strategic assets identified in this study are complementary in the sense that an increase in one results in an increase in the others. For example, increased expertise in handling transactions tends to increase the number of bank accounts and also enhance brand image.

A resource-based approach underlies this analysis. Banks are significant players in the mobile payment industry because they bring important resources to bear. Other players in the mobile payment area need to work with banks. To continue to be significant players, banks must maintain their strategic assets.

This useful paper illustrates which particular abilities are essential to succeed in the industry. An attempt to be general makes the writing unnecessarily complex in places.