9B16E008 RBC: MOBILE WALLET R. Chandrasekhar wrote this case under the supervision of Professors Nicole Haggerty and Binny Samuel solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e)
[email protected]; www.iveycases.com. Copyright © 2016, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation Version: 2016-06-08 It was mid-October 2012 in downtown Toronto when Linda Mantia, executive vice-president (Digital, Payments and Cards), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and Jeremy Bornstein, head (Emerging Payments), RBC, met with executives from one of Canada’s leading telecom operators to discuss the launch of RBC’s first mobile wallet. The mobile wallet, enabled by the telecom operator’s wireless network, would replace the customer’s leather wallet containing individual credit and debit cards. The wallet was designed by RBC and was housed in a smartphone. As per the prevailing industry norm, the wallet relied on the subscriber identity module (SIM)1 card, contained in a chip, issued by the telecom operator. The mobile wallet would enable customers to pay for purchases with their card of choice by simply waving the smartphone at the point of sale (POS) terminal at a checkout counter.