For businesses, it may be tempting to think that mobility begins and ends with apps for smartphones or tablets. But according to the commerce platform provider FreedomPay, to leverage all that mobility can offer, enterprises should integrate mobile into their underlying business processes.

In response, the company has teamed up with Microsoft Corp. to roll out a payment-as-a-platform solution. Customers can use the mobile app platform to create their own white-labeled app or use APIs to pick and choose components to integrate into their existing mobile apps.

Enterprises are challenged by the need to unify consumer and inventory data across disparate back end systems such as CRM and POS, FreedomPay said, then link a consumer's identity across multiple outlets such as Facebook, Skype, Xbox, mobile and credit cards to create a 360-degree view of the customer. Enterprises can then deliver targeted incentives to consumers based on their interests and buying habits to drive the desired behavior, the company said, adding that a platform — not just a simple app — is required for that job.

The joint payments platform as a service offering combines FreedomPay's Commerce Platform with Microsoft big data tools, such as Windows Azure, to deliver a complete end-to-end solution that can support large and small business, regardless of where they are in terms of adoption, FreedomPay said.

"Many enterprises have invested in mobility solutions like mobile apps that offer coupons, mobile payments, loyalty programs and more," Rodney Bowen-Wright, chief business development officer for FreedomPay, said in a news release. "Most have found that having these individual systems disconnected from their back end, critical data systems leaves them needing more."

The FreedomPay commerce platform includes mobile payments and incentive technologies that work with live POS systems, the company said, along with a gateway that transmits detailed transaction data and rigorous security tools. Working with Microsoft on a strategic payments and commerce solution, FreedomPay is designed to enable real-time payment transactions combined with robust incorporation of data analytics, and a digital wallet solution to give retailers, financial institutions and consortiums a payments platform for the future.

"In the past, the payments business was purely transactional," Colin Kerr, industry solutions director, worldwide financial services, at Microsoft, said in the release. "To fend off competition and to unlock the inherent value in payments, banks and merchants must treat the payments business as an information business. The heart of this is the use of advanced payments data analytics, brought to life by a connected social and mobile device experience. The FreedomPay Commerce Platform delivers innovative payment and mobile wallet solutions on Windows Azure and Windows Phone."

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