Printing If you don't like mobile payments, you're not my friend!

If you don't like metal,

you're not my friend!

IDEA

The purpose of this article is to show - how mobile payments can be turned to some regular easy and safe process, instead of now days with complicated payment procedures, which generally related to some strange content.

As communication channels over mobile gadgets are in wide usage now, and even replacing traditional informational channels like TV and Radio, then it's seems quite logical that such things as news, advertisement and purchasing go to mobile world. More about this concept you can read here - Gadget as government/social scheduler.

The exact issue with money is that mobile payments must be some regular item for paying in corporate B2C sector. I sure it’s the driver of transformation current mobile payments for some entertainment content, with typical amounts of 1-3 EURO, to wide spread of mobile payments for any service.

It’s important to understand, that if do nothing, then situation most probably remains the same, as we have it for last 5-10 years (depending on the market) – 99% of mobile payments are for mobile content, and each transaction is less than 10 EURO. There are lot of buzz about AppStore and similar on-line shops for Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile. Most people see this situation as key turn in mobile commerce, yet they even can’t imagine how big can this market be, if think differently!

Marketing & Development

From the marketing point of view we have the following benefits for the end-user:

Provide personal data for filling in questionnaires, service orders and discount/promo action forms using share of personal contacts file (like VCF). No need boring hand writing.
Usage of barcode and UpCode recognition.
All payment requisites are filled in once and you don’t have to input long sequence of digits. Same as on PC, but mobile phone is always with user.
Meantime same easy, but quick payments without queue (line) when pay bills for water, housekeeping, post service and so on.
Double protection – when paying by credit card, then can be a confirmation on mobile phone. Variants – confirm by SMS, connection of payment terminal and mobile phone by Bluetooth or similar method, but using NFC technologies.
Keeping story (archive) of payments in convenient electronic format with sorting and search.
Meantime, there can be interactive alarms about next date of payment, validity period for promo coupons, some information about currently running discounts and so on, which loading automatically when perform payment.
No problem in return goods back, as there no more situations like sales check is lost, damaged or washed together with garment.

Due to the fact, that all mentioned above topics are bring added value, it’s quite possible that some additional fee is implementing for this mobile payment system.

This is important, as financial institutes like banks or credit card systems have no obvious benefits in running such a service.
Another way of cost return is that shops are paying for this system, as they able to place some advertisement (at least one mentioned – regarding period of promo actions and discounts).

But there is one new beneficiary – mobile operator. That’s the issue! In easiest way there are

earning on traffic,
then possible to have some commission percentage
and finally it’s even possible that payments are done from subscriber account. This means that now it’s not just ARPU, on typical account, but a lot of free cash!).

Then we have a struggle in launching this system as wide usage system. There are two important points:

Market share must be similar to credit card payments (at now days), then OPEX per transaction become negligible.
Customer must have trust in this type of payments.

At my sight - both of these points are solving by start of this project implementation in government’s (or government related) big corporations like electricity/gas/water companies, housekeeping municipal agencies, tax inspections, municipal transport, post offices and similar.

Then we have two ways of system implementation:

Leading by government. Then income of operators is increased, but generally due to some costs’ compensation for usage of infrastructure and (may be) due to some small fee percentage.
Leading by telecom operators. Then business plays a major role, meantime government still have a lot of benefits:
More accurate and precise payment/tax inspection.
Clear and transparent tax payment in semi-automatic mode.
Two mentioned above points are lead to eliminating of shadow economy, along with fight against terrorism.
Reducing CAPEX/OPEX in budget, as infrastructure is related to telecom operator.
Meantime, operators have less OPEX, due to mutual usage of infrastructure for both – payment system and telecom services. In other words – economy on scale effect.
In addition to OPEX savings, deployment on operators’ side brings in competition among operators or mobile payment systems, which brings permanent quality of service and further convenient innovations for end-users.

RESUME

The Mobile Payment System is implemented in corporate and government segments. What we have then?

First of all – attitude to mobile payments is turn over on 180 degree. Before it were strange small payments for strange content, after it’s trustful and convenient payments for corporate segment.
Second – technology goes from corporate segment to small and medium business usage. Buy a bread in small bakery or pay for lunch in restaurant – easy with mobile payments.

The last, but not least – running system brings more transparent money movements way for government and more convenient system for end-users. Then we make business more honest, in relation to
Competitors. You sure that your competitor success is based only on his hardworking and not because he do not pay taxes.
Customers. No more confusions with final pricing and more clear scope of the market situation on competitive products.
Government. Taxes paid, system more automated and limiting cheaters’ activity.

So, everybody is happy and telecom operators have additional firm income. The only issue for operators is that they have this idyllic picture only in the case they lead such development! If join later to some system developed by credit cards system or government – then it’s not business share, but just some remains like partial OPEX compensation.