Ericsson and Grundfos enable simplified access to drinking water through mobile wallets
September 21 2016 - 3:00AM
- Mobile technology connective with innovative
water ATMs enable access to sustainable water supply
- The agreement presents break-through solution
that can benefit water service providers and consumers
worldwide
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) announced today that it has
joined forces with Scandinavian company, Grundfos, to offer an
integrated solution that improves access and payments for drinking
water. The collaboration ensures easy connection of mobile wallet
providers and water service providers, to simplify access for the
end consumer. It involves the Ericsson M-Commerce Interconnect that
provides a global payments hub for mobile payment services, and the
Grundfos AQtap, a water ATM that dispenses water and supports
sustainable water management. The solution is expected to drive
more efficient revenue collection with reduced cash management
risks and overhead costs, and is deployed this week in Kenya
powering selected water kiosks operated in Makueni county
implemented by World Vision UK and World Vision Kenya, in
partnership.
Peter Todbjerg Hansen, Managing Director of
Grundfos Lifelink says: "This is a perfect example of two global
corporations integrating their technologies to offer a complete
water ATM solution previously unknown to the world. It is now
possible to pay for water with mobile money, and water revenue
collection is safe and automated."
Not least the revenue collection plays an
important part in securing reliable access to drinking water, as
water supply points have been known to fail due to lack of funds,
and capacity for operations and maintenance. Furthermore
transparency and control of water price are critical to sustainable
and pro-poor water supply services.
Grundfos addresses this with automated and
connected water kiosks, also known as water ATMs, that offer an
integrated solution for dispensing and remotely managing water
supply points in both rural and urban areas. The Ericsson
M-Commerce Interconnect enables mobile wallet service providers
globally to add the connected water kiosks as a new consumer
utility service in their payments acceptance portfolio thereby
helping to drive cashless transactions and usage of the mobile
wallet
Peter Heuman, Head of M-Commerce at Ericsson says:
"The work that Ericsson is doing with Grundfos is crucial to
reducing the cost and deployment times of these innovative ATMs
that will deliver a more reliable water supply. It simplifies the
payment process by taking cash out of the equation and our solution
removes the need for water service providers to integrate with
every mobile wallet provider used by people in the country. With
Ericsson M-Commerce Interconnect, any mobile wallet service from
any service provider in any region can be used to provide payment.
Enabling access to water will support social and financial
inclusion, and enable the sustainable development of local
communities, potentially impacting millions of people. This is what
we mean by Technology for Good."
The scope of the collaboration is global, and is
especially relevant in developing countries, where water service
providers constantly strive to improve the efficiency and financial
viability of water projects for better access to financing of water
infrastructure maintenance and expansion.
"With the AQtap water ATM and its revenue
collection platform powered by mobile payment, our innovation can
play a part in removing some of the key pain points around how
water is paid for and revenue streams secured. This enables us to
support water service providers in supplying citizens with
sustainable access to water," concludes Peter Todbjerg Hansen.
NOTES TO EDITORS
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Ericsson / Grundfos simplify access
to drinking water
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Source: Ericsson via Globenewswire
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