by anton | Nov 27, 2013 |
Providers of Mobile Billing and applications are constantly faced with the question: what do consumers want? Because if the experience you are providing is substandard, you will lose clientele very is a big deal for everyone. Your clientele wants to feel comfortable when making use of your applications. You need to foster an environment of trust by ensuring that your portal is indeed secure. Free stuff: you are under no obligation to give anything away freely as part of your service, but people are always looking for a bargain. Why not make one of your services or products free to encourage sign-up of new customers. People are more likely to spread the word about you if you do. Device compatibility: something that is often over looked when it comes to Mobile Billing and applications, is device compatibility. It doesn’t matter how kickass your service is, or how fancy the mobile statement waiting to be delivered, if your customers can’t access it via their particular phone you are throwing money in the wind. For a good Mobile Billing experience, get in touch with Integrat right...
by anton | Jul 31, 2013 |
Different methods exist for mobile billing and payments. We can expect to see an increase in the number of complicated (and simplified) ways for paying for virtual goods in the future. But for now, these are the methods we are all familiar with. The “grandfather” of mobile billing is the SMS text. It is the oldest and simplest way of charging customers for goodies. The customer sends a text and asks to have the product charged to his mobile bill. As soon as the payment is received, the merchant gets a notification and he releases the product to the consumer. The problem with this kind of billing is that it takes a bit of time and there is always the risk of info/ notifications getting lost or delayed. If you are in a hurry to obtain your product, this method can cause much frustration. To help solve this problem, direct mobile billing was introduced. It is faster, more secure and customers don’t need a credit card, nor do they have to register on another site beforehand. This allows merchants to reach people anywhere in the world. When customers want an online product, all they have to do is choose the mobile payment option and then enter a pin and/or password into their mobile phone. The charge will then be added to their phone bill. It is also possible to make mobile billing and payments via the internet. It is the exact same process as doing it from a computer, but it has the added advantage of the “anytime, anywhere” approach – you aren’t restricted to your chair behind the...
by anton | Jul 19, 2013 |
Mobile billing and payments come with their own set of difficulties for mobile operators. What factors do you as a mobile operator need to consider when offering this as a service? Rapid change in environment: you will have to keep up with the rapid change in technology and user demands. Customers are quick to seek out the competition if they can provide something better or more advanced. As an operator you need to be flexible and stay on top of the latest trends. Business models and prices: mobile billing and payment platforms have to adapt to all current and emerging models. These will include, but will not be limited to, in-app-based billing, one-off purchases, subscriptions, and the provision of credit. Customers want to be able to choose their payment methods (credit card/ direct operator billing/ Paypal) which means you have to be able to support most (if not all) of them. Dealing with third parties: a mobile operator isn’t a billing should be automated to ensure effectiveness. Your services don’t stop when your staff goes home for the day. Solid infrastructure: deployment, upgrades, integration and customization has to happen with minimal problems and without disturbing existing billing systems. Do not let these factors deter you from entering into the world of mobile billing and payments. Progress is made daily to streamline, optimize and simplify these processes for ease of...
by anton | Jul 15, 2013 |
Mobile gambling along with games were some of the first entertainment based applications to see the light. Now thanks to mobile aggregation, you can pay for your gambling through data surpasses every other available payment option – especially credit cards, where the conversion rates can be as low as 7%. Simple usage makes direct billing conversion rates so high. This way, players don’t need to fill in any additional forms or leave additional personal data that can discourage them from completing the payment.” Mobile billing for gambling apps seems to have quite a few advantages. It is however advisable to still have more than one payment option available to your clientele so they have the ability to...
by anton | Jul 10, 2013 |
Did you know there are currently two forms of mobile billing? It is identified as “direct operator mobile billing” and “direct-to-bill” payments. While both are simply referred to as mobile billing, they actually work very differently. What is direct operator mobile billing? According to billingviews.com, direct operator billing was highlighted in September last year when Facebook announced it would work with Bango to enable its users to charge their Facebook purchases directly to their mobile bills. It is a virtual way of paying for digital goods and services that are often (but not always) related to the mobile device. Dr Windsor Holden observed the following in his white paper, Mobile Payments in the App Store Economy: Winning Strategies for Telcos: “For the operator, the storefront and the developer, Direct Carrier Billing is an increasingly attractive option. Storefronts and developers can monetise demographics which either do not possess credit cards or are unwilling to give out card details online; the operator can retain and enhance its role in the content value chain.” Direct operator mobile billing can be used to buy digital goods like a paid app to virtual currency in a Facebook-based game. What are direct-to-bill payments? The alternative to credit and debit cards, direct-to-mobile payments is used to purchase retail or hard goods. “The first phase of this would be, for example, paying for purchases from a web retailer like Amazon with a mobile direct-to-bill charge. But the next step happens in the real world, where people begin using mobile payment technology to utilize direct-to-bill charging as a form of payment in lieu of credit and especially debit...