Online Mobile Payments

So here’s where the magic really happens! The Telemedia industry has the ability to not only deliver but, more importantly, to collect mobile payments (for services) that “connected customers” perceive as having a tangible billable value. Since these propositions are generally marketed and sold “remotely” – where there is no established billing relationship between the merchant / promoter and the customer – the charge is assigned to their phone number, often via direct carrier billing or SMS payment. In this scenario, a mobile payment service provider or aggregator provides the commercial link between the networks, who collect payment, and the content and marketing partners, who then take their share of the transaction.

The telemedia industry has the technical ability to generate and switch very high volumes of premium billed voice and data traffic – with each minute or message carrying a relatively small unit price. This is one of the industry’s greatest assets; the provision of micropayments that, by their very nature carry a relatively low “pain threshold” for consumers, and can be used to bill for content, services, or even charity payments. These transactions are often not suited to credit card processing and in many emerging markets the consumer might not even have a bank account or payment card to use, so premium SMS (PSMS), pay by text, or direct operator billing are perfect solutions. There are a number of SMS payment providers and direct carrier billing companies out there with excellent mobile billing software and SMS payment systems.

So fundamentally, the ability to collect payments in a wide variety of ways including Payforit, pay by text, SMS pay, premium rate services and other mobile payment solutions, provides the key to driving value added services and monetising content. In addition, the rise of the open banking solution and open banking providers in recent years has introduced even more mobile billing payment apps. So in this section we’ll not only report on technical and commercial innovations but also the ever present “issues” surrounding compliance and regulation.