Theoretical foundations in the pricing of intermediating services: The case of payments via mobile phones

Intermediating services are relatively new in research. This study explores how consumers may determine the value of intermediating services and the extent on willingness to pay. We investigate a mobile payment technology that intermediates payments facilitated by a telecommunication company and a bank. We show that a derived effect may persuade consumers to pay higher for the intermediating service when the items purchased have a higher surplus to justify the consumption of the service. Our study also shows that money has polarity, in that money that is ‘owned’ by the individual is viewed differently from money ‘not owned’.