Cash, Check or Text: Mobile Payments for the other 97%

By PYMNTS | May 19, 2010

Steve Roberts

Name: Steve Roberts

Title: CEO

What I’m working on now…ShopText is the leader in mobile promotion response. We focus on making our brand and retail clients’ media interactive and measurable. Instead of having to go online or call a 1-800 number to register for a promotion or buy a product, with ShopText, consumers can act on the spot. No pre-registration is required and our clients capture the same rich data and payment information they own when a consumer engages in an online or 1-800 transaction. Essentially, we connect any ad directly to fulfillment, card or CRM systems while creating a new direct-to-consumer mobile channel.

We believe that promotions are the key to unlocking the promise of mobile commerce. Whether a spend ‘n get, rebate, couponing or card registration program with US Bank or Delhaize, each program enables our retail clients to associate rich card data with a mobile telephone number. This positions clients to drive future commerce programs while making their cards top of wallet on the consumer’s mobile phone today. For clients ready to embrace the future of mobile, like Dillard’s, we can launch mobile commerce today.

My crowning achievement is… Winning P&G, Dillard’s, US Bank and Delhaize’s mobile business

Industry Association Awards… Named a Top Ten Innovation in Media & Marketing by Ad Week

Education… BA – Middlebury College, MBA – University of Chicago

When I’m not working, I like to… Ski, Run, Golf, Dive…be outside with my family

I think the next big thing in payments is… Mobile, but not the way most people imagine today

Cash is… KING

Checks are… A hassle

NFC is… A very expensive, hardware centric approach to mobile commerce that may not reach critical mass for another 7 to 10 years

P2P will… Continue to be an interesting experiment when focused on the wrong market opportunity

My mentor is/ I’ve learned from my mentor…Michael Tunstall. Michael has taught me to focus on tapping into existing consumer behavior and the programs that clients can embrace today…where we can drive near term mobile promotions revenue and bridge to the future of mobile commerce.

Executive Bio: Steve Roberts Prior to ShopText, Steve’s marketing and internet experience includes COO of McCann Erickson’s $200 million relationship marketing company MRM Partners, CFO of McCann’s $650 million marketing services companies and CFO of Modem Media (acquired by Digitas in 2004), where he led the company’s IPO in 1999, and drove its profitable growth to a run rate of $160 million in revenue. Prior to Modem Media, Steve held several global and international P&L management positions at United Technologies. Prior to joining UTC in 1990, Steve structured debt financing for radio, paging, cable and newspaper acquisitions and leveraged buyouts in the Corporate Finance Group of Continental Bank (now Bank of America). Steve has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Middlebury College.