by anton | Jul 23, 2014 | Mobile Products
You are always looking for opportunities to lower business costs, right? Did you know: a SMS Platform to communicate with your clients about their appointments can actually save you money? We all lead very busy lives and it is easy to forget an appointment, especially if it is with someone you don’t visit on a daily basis – like a doctor, broker, attorney etc. As frustrating as it can be for you as a client to realise you have to reschedule, it is even more frustrating for the business owner. What clients don’t realise, is that a business actually loses money due to missed appointments. Quick fact: in the UK, it is estimated that patients forget at least 12 million GP appointments every year. This results in an overall loss of about £162 million. Business owners, do yourself a favour and have look at how many times you are “stood up” by clients. (You might have not even have thought about it before now). How much is it costing you to reschedule every time? So, what is the solution and what does an SMS Platform have to do with it? Simple. Start sending your clients text reminders. In a SMS, you can tell your clients when their appointment is. You will also be able to fit the address of your company in there as well. In fact, why not provide a link in the message that can take them to an online map? Now clients don’t have to waste time (and arrive late as a result) if they aren’t familiar with your location. You can send the text a...
by anton | Jul 21, 2014 | Mobile Products
Mobile Vouchers are creating quite the hype among marketers. Why? Well, for one thing, you can actually keep track of it every step of the way. Talk about insight into consumer behaviour! Measuring the success of a marketing campaign is every marketers’ nightmare. It doesn’t matter if you dream up the greatest plan to come across your boss’s desk since the nineties, if you can’t give him stats and figures when the party is over, he will be less than impressed with your prowess. Or rather, lack thereof. So, by telling you that your Mobile Vouchers are “accountable”, it is easy to understand why it has become the latest buzz word. Depending on the system you are using, the process can look something like this. Send the coupon to the customer in a text message. It will contain a unique number to ensure that the voucher can only be redeemed once. The customer presents the coupon to a cashier at the point of sale. The system will then register it and mark it as “used.” After the process is completed, you should be able to access the following info. Where the voucher was redeemed: if you have more than once branch, or a brick-and-mortar as well as an online shop, this could prove which is more popular with your consumers. You could then do something special or different for your more popular channels, or look at ways to boost your less poplar channels. What item(s) was part of the redemption: want to know which products your customers truly love? Have a look at what they bought when they redeemed...
by anton | Jul 18, 2014 | Mobile Products
Consumers are showing more and more interest in smartphones, tablets and mobile marketing as a whole. This is good news for businesses making use of LBS (location based service) marketing. What trends are starting to emerge in the industry? People love, love, love video There’s no denying the fact that human beings are lazy by nature. That is why the aim of mobile development is just that – to make life easier for us. Consumers have become increasingly reluctant to read long pieces of text and are shifting their favour towards graphics and video. Did you know that the mobile users are taking over Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest and Instagram? If you can combine your Location Based Marketing on social media channel with high quality images and video material, you will have an instant recipe or success! Location is part of everything we do – and beyond The traditional “word of mouth” marketing (one of the most powerful forms of marketing there is) has not disappeared. It only shifted from telling your friend about a wonderful restaurant (face to face) to regularly checking in or rewriting reviews/ comments on social media. Once again, being curious about what your friends do in their daily lives, is also one of those “human things” we do. People want to know what their loved ones are up to and they value the opinions of those close to them. If your friend is announcing his visit to a particular restaurant every week, it is no secret that he enjoys the experience. No words needed! Next time you want to try a new place, you will...
by anton | Jul 16, 2014 | Mobile Products
A quick and easy way to do market research, is by using mobile polls and surveys. How do you initiate this? Through USSD NI! Marketers always need to think of fun and interesting ways to do customer research. The needs of your customers do change over time – as do their age, geographical location etc. Sometimes a new product/ service might attract an entirely different consumer than what you thought it would. Or maybe you just want to get your customers’ honest opinion on how they experience your brand. Whatever the case, there are loads of reasons why you would want to conduct research. Okay, so what does this have to do with USSD Ni? You can use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Push messages to push out real time, engaging questions to your customers in the form of mobile polls and surveys. How does it work? You can either send your customers a link to visit a website containing your poll or survey. Or, you can send the actual survey to their phone. Why can this be effective? It is a great way to connect with your customers at the drop of a hat, as people have their phones on their person at all times. It can take people hours, maybe even a few days, to actually open and read their email – especially if they receive a great number of messages on a daily basis. For that reason, consumers usually respond better on mobile messages than email. It can work on old phones as well as newer phones (e.g. smartphones.) Users don’t need to download any additional...
by anton | Jul 14, 2014 | Mobile Products
In Africa, there are about 650 million cellphone users. The majority of them are prepaid users with an inexpensive phone, which means that SMS is still the best and most effective way to reach them. Marketers sometimes forget that their target audience isn’t necessarily following the latest trends – especially those in poorer communities. Just because you have a smartphone, it doesn’t mean your customers have one as well. But the one thing you can be 100% certain of, is that no matter how low-tech a customer’s phone is, it will be capable of sending and receiving texts. According to research done by Cellfind, the “majority of connections are still basic 2G voice and SMS services, and simple 2.5G data services, rather than 3G or LTE connections.” So before you say SMS messages are too simple for marketing purposes – think again. Eight out of ten people on our continent owns a cellphone. They might change their address, but they rarely change their phone number. And as we all know, nobody leaves home without their mobile. People’s love for their phones is exactly what makes mobile marketing as a whole (and especially SMS) such an effective way to reach your customers. We have talked about all the advantages of SMS marketing many times: it is personal, quick, cheap and interactive. But did you know: you could get a better response rate from consumers as well? According to the research, direct mail can give you a poor response rate of 2.6% with published media not faring much better by 8.5%. But. Texting (depending on your campaign, strategy etc.) could give...
by anton | Jul 11, 2014 | Mobile Billing
Think cell phone billing is only about providing your customers with a convenient payment method? You would be surprised to know what you can learn from a customer’s billing information. Companies spend thousands on market research. Getting to know who your customers are and what they really want, is no easy task. Wouldn’t it be nice to gain some of that niche info without using extra resources? You can indeed – through something as simple as your customers’ transaction history! By analysing purchasing behaviour, you can gain valuable insight that will help you to create marketing strategies with pinpoint accuracy and products/ services that fit your customers like a glove. You could learn the following. What your customers actually prefer: you might think that your purple cell phone covers are all the rage, but your customers might be more interested in ones that are green or blue. So instead of only selling purple covers, you can rather stock a variety of blue and green coloured ones. Now you don’t waste money on stock your customers don’t want AND you could even sell more of your products. How to incentivise: cell phone billing can show you which type of products a customer buys on a regular basis (for example shaving cream). Rewarding a customer with something you know they want (shaving products), carries more weight than incentivising them with a random product (for example a pot plant) they most likely have no use for. If a customer is here to stay: no company wants to waste resources wooing once-off customers when they could be spending it to retain loyal ones....
by anton | Jul 9, 2014 | SMS Gateway
Choosing a SMS Gateway provider is no easy task. Knowing if the one you are currently with is the real deal, is an equally good question. How can you find out? Look for the WASPA affiliation WASPA is a body that keeps an eye on mobile aggregators to make sure they play by the rules. If the aggregator is a member of WASPA, you can be sure they will go out of their way to comply with standards of fairness, advertising rules etc. and they will help you to do the same on your side. This should be the very first thing you look at when choosing your SMS Gateway provider. Put them to the test It is easy for any business to make promises to clients regarding quality products or speedy service delivery. But can they fulfil these promises? Some things, unfortunately, you can only determine when your deal with the provider is up and running. But there are a few basic things you can test beforehand so you can at least have an idea of what you are getting yourself into. How they respond: it doesn’t matter if you are experiencing a crisis or have a simple question, you want to receive attention as soon as possible. And you want to get in contact with your SMS Gateway provider in more than one way. Put their communication channels to the test and see how they respond. Have a look at their social media channels (most companies have a Facebook and Twitter account) and take a look at their response to customer complaints. For example do they respond...
by anton | Jul 7, 2014 | Mobile Products
The Soccer World Cup is currently all the rage, but other competitive sports are taking place all year round. Use Bulk SMS to launch a playful campaign that will get you noticed. Choose a sport that is busy with live matches – for example the Soccer or Rugby World Cup. You want constant interaction with your customers throughout your Bulk SMS campaign. The simplest way to do it, is to base your competition on something that you can ask your subscribers before every game. For example: ask them to predict the score of the match, which player they think will score the most points for their team etc. If you aren’t sure if your customers are interested in a particular sport – ask them. Wholesale SMS is cheap – you don’t have to be stingy with your communication. So, send out a poll or give them the opportunity to vote for their preferred sport. Then, a few weeks before the season starts, alert your customers to the competition you are planning to run. Give them a brief breakdown of how it will work and what they could win. Post this to your social media channels. You can also create a small advert for your traditional mediums so you can reach yet-to-be customers as well. You can use SMS shortcodes in your competition to make your life a little easier. For instance, if there is a winner for every single match instead of an overall one, you can assign a different code to every match. While the matches are going on, you can further entertain your customers by sending them...
by anton | Jul 2, 2014 | Mobile Products
Airtime Voucher campaigns are one of the latest tools that companies are using to reward their customers. But how can this benefit you as a business owner? It isn’t always easy to decide how to reward your customers. First of all you have to keep your budget in mind – an incentive can’t cost you more than your return on investment (ROI). For example, you won’t give away a R100 coupon for every customer who makes a purchase of R10 at your store. You would be broke in no time! The second dilemma you have to face, is choosing a reward that will work for YOUR unique target market. If your customers are mostly male for instance, they probably won’t be swayed by beauty products as a prize. Airtime Vouchers are a well-liked reward, because it crosses the barriers of age, gender, race etc. You really can’t go wrong with it – that is one of the reasons why this is so successful. After all, most people own a mobile phone and the majority of them will confirm that one can never have too much airtime on your hands! It is a brilliant way to increase brand awareness, create loyalty and increase your sales. You can give this reward to inspire customers to buy certain products or enter competitions for the purpose of creating mobile opt-in lists (for SMS marketing). You can use it for different types of competitions and you can determine the value of the voucher to fit the purpose. If you sign up with Integrat, we will handle all headaches involved with the technical side of...
by anton | Jun 30, 2014 | Mobile Products
You don’t always need an elaborate plan for your Wholesale SMS marketing. Sometimes, the straightforward, simplest path produces the best results. Try this “no frills” method – it won’t cost you much either! Using SMS messages to communicate with your customers is really no different from talking to them over the phone or email. It is all about two-way conversation – not just a once off, easy-to-forget text in their inbox. With that in mind, here is a recipe for an effective Wholesale SMS campaign. Strike up a conversation You need to start the conversation from your side. Ask your customers to complete a mobile poll or survey. What do they think about your company and how you can better your services? Send them a mobile voucher of some other small token of appreciation for their participation. Respond again Two birds with one stone! Now you have valuable info AND your customers know that you value their opinion. Very important: send them a text again to thank them for their participation. If some of your customers didn’t want to participate, find out why. Now use that info People want to know that their opinions are valued. It is one thing to thank them, but it is another thing to actually show how you will be using the data. Write about it on your Facebook, Twitter and website en then text the link to your customers. (Ask them to like your social media pages while you are at it.) What have you achieved by this? You used Wholesale SMS messages to open up a communication channel that have proven itself...
by anton | Jun 27, 2014 | Mobile Products
In Part 1 we discussed the importance of acquiring and refining your SMS Marketing subscription list. Next, you have to tackle customer engagement and retention as part of your basic strategy. Engaging with your customers The hardest part – getting your customers’ contact details – is done. But you can’t breathe a sigh of relieve just yet. Now you actually have to deliver on your promises. Naturally, content is King, and the way you present this content is Queen. If consumers don’t like what you have to say or how you say it, they will lose interest fairly quickly. Keeping your SMS Marketing messages relevant and entertaining can be tricky. You only have a limit of about 160 characters after all, thus you have to make every word count. Tip: have a content strategy. Know beforehand what you want to say, how you want to say it and when. Retaining your contact list One of the biggest considerations in your SMS Marketing strategy, is frequency. Too many messages – your customers will unsubscribe. Too few messages – they forget about you. The best course of action you can take is to offer your customers a set option (preferably with their subscription) of message frequency. E.g. they can choose to receive a message twice a week, once a month etc. During an active campaign, you can sent more than one message a week. But if your campaign is over, you want to tone it down until you have something important to say again. Don’t send irrelevant stuff. Along with frequency, goes timing. Don’t send your messages out at inappropriate hours...
by anton | Jun 25, 2014 | Mobile Products
How does a basic SMS Marketing Strategy look? You have to focus on your four main areas: acquiring customers’ contact details, refinement, engagement and retention. Acquiring contact info You need a customer’s permission first in order to send them marketing material via mobile. This is a big undertaking. You need to have a unique and creative plan to do this. A few strategies that have proven useful to obtain mobile numbers, are: hosting competitions, giving away freebies or promising the subscriber exclusivity or something else of value. You have to give very careful thought the content of your messages and there should be no confusion as to the what, how and why of your offering. Once you have decided how you are going to lure your customers, the next step is to determine how to tell them about it. How are they going to receive your “invitation”? This is where your digital and more traditional forms of marketing comes to play. You can alert your customers to subscribe to your contact list by posting it on Facebook and Twitter, sending an email, or placing an advert on a billboard, pamphlets, business cards, corporate stationary etc. Tips: Keep the budget constraints in mind when choosing the channels for your SMS marketing strategy. Give yourself enough time to gather the info – if you rush it, you might get less numbers than you wished for. Refining your list Depending on your SMS Marketing goals, you most likely have more than one type of offering for your subscribers. The golden rule is to always give your customers options, because people’s needs differ....
by anton | Jun 23, 2014 | Mobile Billing
As a business owner, the last thing you want to do is waste money. Companies rarely realise that inaccurate or duplicate customer data can do just this. Luckily, there is a thing called Mobile Number Washing. The aim of software that scrubs cell phone numbers from your database, is to help you eliminate the problem of misguided funds. Companies can lose thousands of bucks each year because of inaccurate customer contact details. Sending marketing material or calling phone numbers that are duplicated or don’t exist, also creates unnecessary work for employees. And not to mention, you are paying for every message you send or call you make. From the customer’s perspective it can get extremely frustrating to receive duplicate messages from a business. Usually this leads to the customer blocking or ignoring your communication attempts and even unsubscribing from your marketing list. Mobile Number Washing can help to prevent this so you don’t drive your customers away instead of enthralling them with your offerings. Your marketing and communication efforts need to be based on data that is 100% accurate for it to be successful. Having info that is not of good quality, can seriously hinder your efforts and leave you scratching your head as to where the problem lies. Mobile Number Washing can quickly and easily get rid of this problem. It can also benefit you on a daily basis because these tools usually have the ability to supervise your entries as it happens. Thus, instead living with an inaccurate entry for weeks (or even a year!), you can receive an alert to the problem almost instantly. Struggling with...
by anton | Jun 20, 2014 | Mobile Products
Are you unsure if a SMS Voucher System is the way to go when it comes to rewarding your customers? Truth be told, if you are not currently making use of it, you are missing out! Incentivising customers usually serves one of two primary goals: You want to reward existing customers for their loyalty You want to woo new customers into becoming loyal ones A Mobile Coupon can serve both of these ideas very well and it is a good fit for any type of marketing campaign – big or small. Your vouchers can give discounts or enable your customers to redeem freebies. It doesn’t have to be huge amounts or expensive gifts either; the main idea behind this gesture is to establish (profitable) customer relationships. Your strategy will, of course, depend on who you are targeting and what your secondary goals are e.g. getting more followers on Facebook, promoting your website, boosting product sales etc. It might even be that these are your primary goals. Whatever the case, make sure you have a clear plan on what you want to achieve, how you are going to achieve it and how you can measure your success. A SMS Voucher System can also help you to: Get customers to follow through with online purchases According to themarketinglounge.org, about 87% of online shoppers abandon their baskets before completing their purchase. There could be many reasons for it, but a coupon given beforehand will definitely help to combat this problem. Increase customer spending Offering an incentive only if a customer spends a minimum amount on purchases, will encourage consumers to spend a...
by anton | Jun 18, 2014 | Mobile Products
Knowing what to put in your text messages for your SMS Marketing campaign isn’t always easy. Some marketers are so focused on building their contact list, that when the time comes to actually start engaging, they don’t know what to say. How can you prevent this pitfall? It is very important not to write your content as an afterthought – it has to be part of your strategy from the very beginning. Start with rough drafts containing what you want to text during each phase of your strategy. It is much easier to tweak your messages as you go along if you have a draft to work from. It will help you to: Identify problem areas from the start. For example, there might be words or phrases that you can’t use from a legal standpoint. Keep everything tight. Say for instance you are rolling out a service/ product in phases. In each phase your customers will have access to more functions/ items. Now the last thing you want to do is send out a SMS during Phase 2 telling your customer things that are actually happening in Phase 4. The hardest part of content creation for SMS Marketing campaigns, is writing content that will engage the reader. You want your customers to line up to request your mobile communication instead of you pleading for their phone numbers. For this your texts have to evoke emotions (take note, positive emotions) in your customers as well as add some kind of value to their lives. For a consumer, giving away their mobile number is a very personal thing. And you can...
by anton | Jun 13, 2014 | Mobile Billing
Cellphone Billing is way to pay for the goods you want without swiping a card or withdrawing cash from the ATM. Here are seven reasons why paying and receiving payment via mobile is awesome for consumers as well as business owners. No waiting in line Customers don’t have to stand in line to pay for their goods. This means less traffic in your shop. Wait, isn’t this a bad thing? Nope. Have a look at the behaviour of people in your shop during rush hours. Often, if it is very busy and the queues are long, customers will put their goods back on the shelves or even turn around right outside your door because they don’t have the time or patience to wait around. Less costs for the business Cellphone Billing can help a business to save on operating costs. You won’t need as many personnel to help your walk-in clients. And you won’t need as many transactions points like card swiping machines. Tapping into the unbanked market Not everyone has a credit card or debit card. Especially in poorer, rural areas, people mostly work with cash. This excludes them from purchasing certain products or services that they really need. Most of them own a mobile phone, which makes this an ideal way for businesses to receive payments. It’s safer for consumers Traditionally, people always use to carry cash with them. Now we all have a wallet full of cards because we feel that it is safer, but actually it doesn’t solve our security problems. Now you can leave your wallet at home. And even if your phone gets...
by anton | Jun 11, 2014 | Mobile Products
Network Initiated USSD is basically an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data message that is sent by a network to a mobile subscriber’s phone. This means that WASPS (like Integrat) can facilitate such a session between a company and its customers due to the relationship it has with the customer’s mobile network operator. The message can contain anything the company wishes to relate to their subscribers – usually in the form of a menu that automatically pops onto the receiver’s mobile screen. For example: it can perform the functions of a live consultant by giving the customer the opportunity to choose between product or service options. A Network Initiated USSD message can be sent regardless if the company wants the customer to respond directly on the message or not. In other words, the customer doesn’t HAVE to respond on a message in order for the system to work. This helps to make USSD a versatile marketing tool, because a company has free creative reign over the what, how and why of their content. One of the greatest uses of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data that is often overlooked, is that it is one of the easiest ways to run a competition. A business can have their customers enter a competition by: Purchasing a product with a unique phone number on it Dialling the USSD string from their mobile device And completing a form/ survey/ questionnaire The company will be able to receive a good number of entries (depending on the type of business it can amount to tens of thousands). No messy admin problems and successful brand awareness in a jiffy. USSD...
by anton | Jun 9, 2014 | Mobile Products
There is no doubt that USSD Push messages can drive sales, but too many companies make the mistake of composing cold, impersonal content. How can you be different? Start by welcoming subscribers to your mobile marketing and thank them for opting in. They are doing you a favour – not the other way around. Don’t constantly blast your customers with generic messages. It looks spammy and will cause the receiver to shut down immediately. Use consumers’ first name to address them in your messages as well so they don’t feel like it is an “attack of the automation robots” on their privacy. Keep the look and feel of your USSD Push messages consistent. It helps to create brand awareness. The second a user receives your notification, they should be able to recognize your company immediately. You can even combine your Push messages with other channels (SMS, email) to lend an air of authenticity to the first mentioned. If you sell a variety of products, make sure the product you are offering to your customer, is relevant to him or her. The same goes for rewards. Nothing is more disappointing than receiving a voucher for a product that you can’t use. Research your target market thoroughly and you will be able to keep your opt-outs to a minimum. Keep an eye on the reaction of your customers. If you see that you receive no engagement on your USSD Push messages, find out why. Don’t ignore signs that your campaign isn’t working. Make sure you send it at an optimal time of day and that your content is appealing. If you...
by anton | Jun 6, 2014 | SMS Gateway
SMS Service Providers are companies that offer SMS services (sometimes products as well). They usually act as a middle man between a mobile network operator and mobile users. These companies are also referred to a SMS Gateway providers or SMS resellers. Some people think that SMS Service Providers are their own little island and not dependant on other companies, but this is not the case. They usually have an arrangement with mobile networks (e.g. Vodacom, MTN, Cell C) to use their message centres in order to provide a service to consumers. In other words, they aren’t mobile networks themselves. In some cases, it might be more expensive for consumers to deal directly with mobile operators when it comes to buying things like bulk SMS. That is where SMS Service Providers come in. They will negotiate better rates and deals for certain services so they can offer cheaper options to their clients. But, as with all things that seem too good to be true, consumers should always be wary when service providers offer them extremely low rates. In such cases the quality of the service might not be up to par and the consumer will subsequently “pay the price”. What does it mean when a website or SMS Service provider offers free SMS? The sender of a text message is usually the one who carriers the cost of the message – not the receiver. Thus, even though a site offers messages free of charge to users, someone still has to pay for it. Usually, the owner of the site carries the cost – that is why consumers are offered a...
by anton | Jun 4, 2014 | Mobile Products
When starting your SMS Marketing attempts for the first time, it is a good idea to gradually introduce your customers to your mobile communication. If you push too hard or market too aggressively, you will scare customers and end up with loads of opt-outs. The first step is to obtain your customers’ phone numbers – legally! They have to opt in to receive your text messages willingly and you also have to assure them that they can opt out any time they want. You can do this using various methods – the easiest of which is to reward them in exchange for their details with prizes, vouchers etc. Remember that you have to make it worth their while – you are invading their private space after all. Your customers will want to know what is in it for them. Ease your customers gently into the process by combining your SMS marketing with email. Send them an electronic mail containing the following valuable info. How to opt in to receive text messages. For example: text 1234 to a certain number Give them choices. Some customers only want to hear about your specials, while others might be interested in your newsletters as well. Thus, they can text 1235 to receive promotional material or 1236 to receive something else. Explain how the process will work. E.g. how many texts will they receive per week? On which days and during what times will they get it? What will the message contain? What do they need to do if they no longer wish to receive your mobile communication? Now, also drive your SMS Marketing...
by anton | Jun 2, 2014 | Mobile Aggregation
Mobile marketing is no longer a form of marketing that is unheard of. This is good news for Mobile Aggregators who want to make a name for themselves in the industry. The thought that mobile phones didn’t even exist a few decades ago, is almost incomprehensible. Our lives are so intertwined with this technology that we simply can’t live without it anymore. Add the fact to it that people are creating more additional uses for it (other than making and receiving calls) and it is no surprise that the world has gone mobile crazy. Mobile Aggregators has the change to swoop in on the best, most innovative, mobile functions. Users are always scrambling for something new and fresh – thus, it could only be to your advantage to offer these products and services to your customers. If you need any more convincing, have a look at these stats from sendmode.co.za. The research was done on consumers in the UK, but it is should still be relevant to South Africans as well. The average consumer sends around 50 text messages a week. Depending on a few factors (the service provider, network etc.) the average delivery time for a text is under seven seconds. 57% of consumers were interested in signing up for brand’s SMS loyalty program and 90% of mobile users who participated in an SMS loyalty program felt they had gained value from it. This just shows how popular mobile messages are: 98% of text messages are read, compared to 22% of emails, 29% of tweets and 12% of Facebook posts. People are also more likely to click on...
by anton | May 30, 2014 | Services
Banks are always looking for ways to add security to their clients’ transactions. But did you know that USSD Aggregators can assist with this? People often fall victim to card scams and cloning at ATMs. Every time financial institutions find a solution for one problem, scam artists simply discover another loophole or way to commit fraud. Banks spend a lot of money to fight these problems, but it isn’t always enough. But one company called Watago, a child company of Eyeline Communications, found a way to use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data against fraudsters. Their system enables clients to be in complete control of their ATM activities via their mobile phone. The USSD Aggregator allows the user to receive a notification on their phone whenever their bank card is used. The user then accepts or declines the transaction by replying with a corresponding number on the message. Thus, the transaction can’t take place if the client doesn’t authorise it. It is also, according to an article on globalussd.com, impossible to use a duplicate a locked or “empty” card – you need to know the password and the time interval when the funds are available. Not only the client, but also the bank is warned by the system when there are repeated unsuccessful attempts to use a client’s bank card. The main reason that such a venture could be successful, is because of the availability of the technology. USSD, like SMS, works on all mobile devices, and doesn’t require a particular operating system. It will give a bank client peace of mind that he/ she has an extra layer of security...
by anton | May 28, 2014 | Mobile Billing
Although Mobile Billing applications are getting noticed more and more, people still aren’t jumping on the band wagon in mass numbers to use it. Why is that? One of the answers seem to be: because these apps are boring. When people install apps on their phone it is because it holds entertainment value. Have a look on your phone as well as those of your friends and family – you will usually find things like games, instant messaging and social media. An application that is only aimed at paying your bills via mobile runs the risk of being bland and uninteresting. What do consumers want then from Mobile Billing applications? Convenience The whole reason people are conducting transactions on their phones is because it is more convenient than driving to the ATM and easier than logging in via a desktop computer. Or that is how it is supposed to be. If an app doesn’t give you a reason to substitute it for the original “thing”, there isn’t much use for it. Simplicity Users want to click and type as few times as possible. When it comes to financial transactions on a handheld device, complexity is a bad thing. Unfortunately the less interaction you need, the higher the security risk. Two practical ways to overcome this problem: You can swipe your device to pay for stuff without a pin or password, but as a security measure, only have a limited amount available in case your device gets stolen. Have a special bracelet that is linked to your phone via Bluetooth. This way, If your phone goes out of range from...
by anton | May 26, 2014 | Mobile Billing
Two of the mobile billing methods offered by Integrat, are Premium SMS and Direct Carrier Billing. What is the difference between the two and how do you know which one is better suited to your business? Premium SMS It works the same as sending a normal SMS where the mobile user (sender) pays a tariff each time he sends a text to someone. The purchase is added to their mobile account bill, or debited from their prepaid account. Subscribers can be billed in two ways: MO billing (mobile originated) messages are billed when a consumer sends an SMS to a premium short code. MT billing (mobile terminated) messages are billed when a consumer receives an SMS on their handset. The most well-known type of purchase this method is used for, is mobile entertainment like ringtones and games. MO billing is probably the more popular of the two. Once the merchant confirms that they have received the payment, they will send the goods or open their service to the receiver. As you can imagine, Premium SMS holds numerous advantages for both the business and the consumer as it is virtually instant. However, if something goes wrong with the sending or receipt of the SMS, there are no guarantees that the consumer will receive her goods. Direct Carrier Billing It works much the same way as it also charges purchases directly to the consumer’s mobile account. However, it is a more secure way of doing mobile transactions and are often used to purchase goods outside of mobile products. Another added advantage is that it allows the consumer to build a relationship...
