With a limited battery life of an hour and weighing more than a pound, that might not be entirely surprising. But another key reason was probably this – there was no m-commerce at that time. (b)  The present – opportunities offered by m-commerce/m-payment  5. Let’s fast-forward to 20 years later after the birth of the first smart-phone, and get back to the present. We are all witnessing the sea change in the landscape of e-commerce, and are enjoying its huge benefits. 6. Most smartphones are much lighter now and have much longer battery life. But more importantly, what was once known as “e-commerce” is expanded by what we now call “m-commerce”. It is the name of the game. 7. People are no longer satisfied with buying or selling things online using their desktop or notebook computers. They want to do these in both the virtual and the real world anywhere, anytime, using their mobile devices like smartphones or tablet computers. 8. Let’s face it: businesses can take place in the virtual marketplace, but people don’t live there. Books can be made digital, but coffee cannot. We still enjoy – and need – physical goods and services. That’s why “m-commerce” is becoming the “game changer”, as it fills the gaps of “e-commerce” by making it portable and connecting the virtual world with the real world. 9. Furthermore, the penetration power of m-commerce has been significantly boosted by new marketing tools made possible by combining mobile technology with Big Data analytics.
Location-based “push” marketing and mobile coupons are helping companies to attract new  1  BBC: World’s first “smartphone” turns 20, Aug 15, 2014 (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28802053). BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  customers and encourage existing ones to spend more. And all sorts of creative “apps” are making the “matching” process between buyers and sellers much more fun and efficient. That is the beauty of the “online-to-offline”, or “O2O” value chain, an increasingly vital element of m-commerce. II. The HKMA’s policy objectives towards electronic payments  10. The benefits of m-commerce are not confined to individual companies. From a macro perspective, m-commerce and m-payment will, no doubt, help to enhance economic efficiency by cutting costs of businesses, make the payment process safer, facilitate price discovery of goods and services, and contribute directly to price stability and increased competition. 11. A study conducted by Moody’s Analytics last year estimated that the greater use of electronic payments added nearly $ trillion in global economic growth over a five-year span between 2008 and 2012. That growth in GDP was equivalent to creating 1.9 million jobs. 12. In view of the importance of electronic payment, the HKMA has carefully considered the approach that it should adopt in view of its dual role both as a regulator and a facilitator to promote a healthy development of electronic payments. 13. In short, we are adopting a three-pronged approach. i)  First, we have made it a priority to promote the further adoption of electronic payment means.