The 2012 Australian Mobile Awards are just around the corner and we are proud to announce our in-app payment solution, Tap2Pay is up for an award! Voting is now open, so please show your support and vote for Tap2Pay! The Australian Mobile Awards showcase leading mobile achievements.
Mobile payment is an alternate type of payment process. Rather than making payments with currency, check, or credit cards, a customer can make a payment using their mobile phone for a growing range of products and services. Some of these include micropayments for individually purchased items, such as ringtones, mobile music, movies, or online gaming subscriptions. Other digital items are included in mobile payment goods, but mobile payments are not limited to digital items. Household payments, transportation needs, online reading material, and cellular billing are all possible with mobile payments.
Although there are many kinds of mobile payment platforms, they can be contained in four main categories. The first type is Premium Transaction Billing (SMS Payment type), 
which features mobile posted or prepaid options for mobile shopping and payment convenience. The second is Direct Mobile Billing, which debits payments from the cellular phone bill. Mobile web payments are the third type of transaction. These are made through the mobile internet connection, typically through a cloud host server which encompasses a wide range of industries. Contactless NFC (Near Field Communication), typically used for ticket purchases and virtual passes, are the fourth type of transaction.
Android payments feature whole mobile banking options, allowing users to conduct all of their banking directly from their mobile phone. This option has optimized convenience for a variety of industries, allowing instant transactions at any time of day or night. As a result, the customer base for many of these industries has expanded beyond initial expectation.
Premium SMS/USSD based transactional payments allow users to send payment authorizations via text messages that is then billed to the mobile account bill, or debited from their online prepaid account. Once a successful payment is posted, merchants can authorize the release of goods or service agreements. This payment process is instant and virtually accessible from anywhere. Short codes, which are accessed through the USSD server, guarantee security and offer reliable transactions for both the merchant and the consumer.
Online industries have expounded due to the increased popularity of mobile payments. Mobile billing continues to evolve as features are developed to accommodate the rapid expansion of online purchasing, web based products, and application technologies. Barcodes are one of these adaptations, which allow scanning for confirmed payments to be conducted for instant transactions for goods or services from a cell phone. Even coffee shops and drive through restaurants have adopted these applications.
Payment by cell phone has never been easier than with systems currently in place to bring consumers a versatile and accessible way to make purchases. Texting technology has created market avenues for new industries while modifying existing ones. Online industries and existing product markets have benefitted from the wide spread adoption of payment by cell phone applications across the globe. The universal access has made mobile payments the preferred method of purchasing for most consumers and merchants in today’s market.
Pay by mobile methods have created virtual wallets with electronic money held right within the mobile phone. Security measures are strict and layered to prevent identity theft or mistaken payments. These security measures include encrypted codes and personal identification numbers, which protect both the merchant and the consumer. Global banks and large corporations entrust their businesses to these applications, lending to their validity.
Small accounts can be managed by any merchant holder, and many are customized for specific industry needs. Customized options are available for individual companies as well. Online purchases are tracked with their own specified code and guaranteed by the service provider. Most transactions whether small or large scale are completed in less than ten seconds. The speed and ease of mobile payment transactions cannot be matched by any competitive method. Mobile payments are preferred by consumers across all industries.
It is in the best interest of merchants to install widgets or apps for their applied use. The generation of consumers who have had access to accelerated technology demands the simplicity and convenience of pay by mobile technology. This technology is the wave of the future for all industries. The expanded consumer base is necessary for competitive businesses at any level of the market. For this reason, there are many options available for mobile payments.
Mobile payments can be accessed at any time of day or night, from any location conducive to cellular phone use. Whether users prefer the popular Android system or other programs, text payments are the easy, convenient way to promote business and transact payments. Implementing mobile payments is a simple process that is conducted by the server. Many companies are advised to input a widget for mobile pay apps to their websites or mobile marketing attachments. Text payments enable mobile marketing with ease. Once payments are made via text, the payment confirmation is made and tracked by the numeric SMS code. The encryption and individualization is conducted by the host server and not dependent upon the merchant or consumer.
SMS technology оffеrѕ an аltеrnatіve payment method that can bе implemented into businesses across all industries, рrоviding a сomfоrtаble аnd dіverѕе SMS рауmentѕ ѕоlutіоn for all types of consumers.
Specializing in SMS payments, Text2Pay’s payment system enables merchant’s to implement an efficient SMS payment solution into to their online offering, which allows mobile mеssaging between the online Merchant and mobilе рhоne users. Merchants simply integrate a Text2Pay widget into their website. Customers then select to pay via SMS, enter their phone number, and then complete the transaction by replying to a text message.
SMS payments solutions are being raріdly-adоpted by consumers to pay for online gооdѕ and ѕеrvіcеѕ safely and easily. Consumers have become increasingly comfortable with this alternate payment method as SMS payments offer very faѕt payment oppоrtunitіеѕ and are perfect for low-value; one-off or subscription purchases. With the іmрlementation of the Text2Pay SMS раymеntѕ system, users of mobile dеvісеs can utilize all the benefits of SMS payment technology. With no credit cards or signup forms necessary, consumers can spend more time doing what they want. Using a two-factor PIN/ZIP code authentication for each transaction – Text2Pay is more secure than any credit card transaction. The extra security this “physical presence factor” provides is why many online banking systems now incorporate additional layers of SMS identification and transfer authorization as part of their banking service.
The Text2Pay SMS payments solution also enables merchants and mobile developers a simple, effective way of monetizing their online offering or adding depth to their current payment options. With no financial institute account details required, merchants are able to access a wider range of customers and can expect their conversion rates to soar across all customer segments. Text2Pay is designed to work alongside existing payment options.
SMS payments utilize the advantages of SMS technology and are revolutionizing the way we think about payments. The popularity of SMS payments continues to grow amongst online merchants and consumers due to the efficiency, high fraud protection and convenience of the alternate payment method.
February 7th, 2012 – New York, NY - With the completion of these 3 simple steps, merchants will instantly be able to use the Text2Pay mobile payment service to bill their customers for virtual goods and online content. There is no need to wait for confirmation emails or lengthy sales calls.
Text2Pay CEO, Mark Reiken says, with no human interaction, it is a seamless process to register and activate your brand.
“It’s quick and simple – you go through three easy steps then you have immediate access to our payments platform and a wizard where you can setup your brand & campaign, track & analyze your statistics and customize your widget,” he says.
“Merchants are not required to wait before they can start to bill their customers for virtual goods and online content.” Mr Reiken says.
How it Works – Easy as 1 2 3!
1. Merchants are asked to ‘Add a New Brand’ of the product or service and the credit title of the virtual goods or currency they are selling.
2. Merchants then define how the product will be sold as they ‘Create a Campaign’. Merchants can then decide on the type of purchase, the brands involved, the countries they want to sell their product in and how much they want to charge for their product or service.
3. Merchants are asked to ‘Customize and Integrate’ their payment widget. This white label solution allows Merchants to customize the widget’s theme and logo. The integration is as easy as pasting the snippet code into the Merchant’s website.
Register here for your free account & use our simple setup wizard to configure your mobile payment campaigns today.
Via: Online MBA Guide
Android Developers pursuing in-app payments no longer need anticipate. A number of in-app billing payment options have recently been established and refined bringing both developers a profitable platform to monetize their applications and consumers new app elements and fast, easy transaction options. Before now, collecting payments was a problematic feature and functionality for developers to enable inside their apps. Fortunately the Android platform now has more than a few in-app payment options available. One such in-app payment solution is Tap2Pay™.
Tap2Pay™, a state of the art in-app billing solution, is proudly presented by Text2Pay, a leader in online mobile payments. The team at Text2Pay have recognized the need for Android and mobile application developers to easily and seamlessly integrate a payment solution into their application. Tap2Pay™ enables app developers to charge their users for premium application features or virtual credits. This in-app payment solution not only provides developers momentous revenue opportunities with the ability to monetize any mobile application, but it successfully has a consumer reach of 95-100% in over 70 countries.
By integrating the Tap2Pay™ payment widget into their application with a simple API and Java library, Tap2Pay™ offers developers all the benefits of Text2Pay including a white labelled solution and competitive revenue share rates. Tap2Pay™ does not require credit card details, financial information, user login or registration through a third-party website and is as simple as accepting the payment and having the purchase added to the user’s phone bill. When the user chooses what to buy, the developer makes one simple call to start the transaction and the user confirms this with a single tap on their mobile phone.
In-app mobile payments are made immediately available to consumers once Tap2Pay™ is integrated into the mobile developer’s application. With 95-100% coverage in over 70 countries, the ability to process transactions in 60 currencies and localization support for 49 languages, there is no need for any additional developer work. Tap2Pay™ offers single tap purchasing through carrier billing, built-in support for one-off and subscription items along with virtual currency and virtual goods transactions.
Mobile shopping is only just beginning to achieve its vast potential, utilizing the advantages of m-commerce that offers an efficient and convenient alternate payment method. The need for and reliance of mobile devices h
as changed traditional consumer behaviours and the act of buying, which has resulted in the evolution of mobile shopping; online and in-store.
The technological advancements of online mobile shopping have brought retail to a turning point. Consumers that were once confined to a particular purchase location are now free to make purchases anywhere and anytime, favouring not being chained to a specific shopping destination. Text2Pay, a first-class billing application which has applied such technology, makes online mobile shopping an ease for both consumers and merchants. Text2Pay enables customers to pay for goods online using their cell phone with the purchase coming off their phone bill. For merchants, this online mobile payment process serves not only as an affordable alternative to investing in a physical retail business location but as a productive and flexible payment method that does not require the use of a credit card, which in turn increases the potential for a wider base of customers.
In-store mobile shopping promises consumers an interactive and personalised shopping experience. Using the new mobile app, Scan it, the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. allows consumers to scan and bag their groceries while they shop, paying for their goods at the checkouts. Homeplus in Korea is another company that has applied this technology; however they use virtual stores in local subway stations, placing pictures of shelves with real inventory and attaching QR codes to each item. The customer scans the items they want and the digital purchases are charged to an account and the items delivered to their homes. Square has also designed its own version of an in-store mobile system. Instead of using a register, merchants use an iPhone or iPad, and an app and connect a credit card reader that charges the customers card for purchase. This potentially allows the store assistant to completely focus on helping the customers. These examples of in-store mobile shopping deliver an interactive shopping experience and have replaced the original purpose of mobile devices from a communicative tool to a product scanner and personal register.
With the acceleration of mobile technology and the momentum m-commerce has gained, the practice of mobile shopping is strong, and makes good use of mobile payment superiority. Mobile shopping solutions serve as a complement to traditional business practices and help merchants attract customers. However, to revolutionize mobile payments, the advantages of being mobile need to be utilized. In-store mobile shopping provides an interactive experience but unlike the use of online mobile payments provider Text2Pay, the consumer still needs to physically be at the store to make a purchase. An additional benefit of Text2Pay is that it does not require the use of a credit card or any other financial information, where as in-store mobile shopping relies on this for purchases. Merchants that offer online mobile payment significantly increase their revenue opportunities by reaching a wider base of customers, unlike merchants using an in-store mobile shopping system that rely on banked consumers to come to their store.
As m-commerce continues to accelerate and pave the way for the ever increasing advancements in mobile technology, so does the consumer need for online mobile shopping. Mobile phones have bcome indispensible and m-commerce has become a natural extension of this life style. Consumer adoption of mobile payments is strong with services expected to reach US$245b in value, worldwide by 2014.[1] With this predicted figure, having a mobile strategy is fundamental to engage and connect with active consumers.
Text2Pay recognises the increasing consumer demand for mobile payments, and has enabled merchants to sell their goods online, charging their customers cell phones for purchases. Having gained unique insight into mobile payments, Text2Pay is a first-class billing application which makes mobile payments an ease for both consumers and merchants.
With the simple integration of a Text2Pay widget into their online offering, merchants can effectively support the needs of their tech savvy consumers. Text2Pay does not require pre-registration and or any new software; most transactions are completed within 10 seconds and are easy, safe and secure. With the best value transaction rates in the market, merchants can rely on Text2Pay to improve their conversion rates, increase revenues and grow their international customer base.
As consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with paying for goods and services via mobile devices, Text2Pay has established a safe, easy and inviting way for consumers to pay for digital goods online using their mobile phone. With no credit cards or signup forms necessary, consumers can spend more time doing what they want. Using a two-factor PIN/ZIP code authentication for each transaction – Text2Pay is more secure than any credit card transaction. The extra security this “physical presence factor” provides is why many online banking systems now incorporate additional layers of SMS identification and transfer authorisation as part of their banking service.
The growing dependency on mobile phones has significantly influenced the widespread consumer adoption of mobile payments. With this rapid adoption in mind and the need for a strategy, Text2Pay has been designed for both merchants and consumers and offers a mobile payment system that works efficiently, boasting high fraud protection and convenience. Text2Pay compliments and supports m-commerce, as it continues to gain momentum, bringing solution to both consumer and merchant needs.
With over half the world’s adult population being unbanked or without an account at a bank or a financial institution, the need for an alternative payment method is globally voluminous. With that being said, the technological advances and development of telecommunication and mobile applications, makes mobile payments a viable and an attractive payment solution to global consumers and businesses.
According to the Financial Access Initiative report; Half the World is Unbanked, 2.5 billion adults worldwide do not use formal financial services. 2.2 billion of the unserved adults live in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and around 9 million live in the United States. Whilst, the global unbanked population live both, in countries with an established financial payment infrastructure and countries with a limited financial infrastructure, 5.3 billion people globally have mobile phones.
With over 70% of the world’s population being mobile subscribers, the bill to mobile solution holds the key to the future of online payments. Not only is online mobile payments, a convenient purchase method but unlike mobile banking transactions, it does not exclude the unbanked population. With the purchase taken off the customer’s mobile phone balance, this method would potentially suit the payment needs of the unbanked mobile subscriber population.
Online mobile payments utilize the advantages of mobile-commerce and have the capability of enhancing the lifestyle of billions, especially those living with an inadequate financial infrastructure. With the ever increasing use of mobile devices and advances in technology, online mobile payment is an efficient and convenient global solution to the current and future position of online payments.
