by anton | Mar 27, 2015 |
Direct Operator Billing is a service you can provide to your customers so they can pay you directly from their mobile phone. Why is it becoming a trend? What is in it for your business? It is Green If you are concerned about the earth (which we all should be) you will love this paperless way of conducting transactions. No cutting down trees or destroying the environment to print bills, invoices, statements, envelopes, post stamps etc. Money before goods Non-paying customers can seriously hurt your business. Online businesses in particular often struggle to get their money from customers – the moment the customer receives their delivery, they suddenly vanish. Other times cheques bounce or things just simply go wrong. With Intergrat’s Direct Operator Billing, you will receive confirmation if the customer will be able to pay you before you approve his/ her order. You save First of all, your business will save on costs because everything is paperless. But because the payment process is so transparent, you should also receive fewer refund requests or complaints. It is convenient for the customer The moment consumers have to jump through hoops to pay you, they start thinking twice about their purchases. Often times they decide that it’s not really worth all the hassle and they abandon their virtual shopping cart. Impulse consumers can also really boost your company’s bottom line. Make it easy for them to purchase your products on the spot by giving them Direct Operator Billing. Naturally, the easier you make it for consumers to shop, the more likely they are to return and make repeat purchases. Depending on...
by anton | Dec 19, 2014 |
Mobile Billing is the newest way of using your phone to make a payment. It is easy and convenient and people are wondering if this might replace ATM machines in the future. However, users are still a bit concerned about their financial safety when using this method. Sure, there are problems you can potentially encounter when paying with your phone. But it is no more (or less) risky than using internet banking, swiping your credit card or withdrawing cash at an ATM. The good news is that you can do a few things to keep safe and prevent fraudsters from getting their hands on your banking details. Also, providers have their own security measures in place to protect consumers. Examples are: Tokenization: and target removal: sensitive info like usernames and pins are removed during the payment process. Two factor authentication: The user is asked to provide two pins/ passwords in order to proceed with the payment. What can I do to protect myself? Keep your mobile device safe: Prevent people from physically using your phone, even if you lose it. Have a start-up password on your phone as well as one to log into the Internet or any applications you are using. The trick is not to make it something obvious like your birthday or your child’s name. Stay away from dodgy sites: Don’t get fooled by a fraudulent site – make sure they are authentic. Look for reviews and complaints on the web before you do any Mobile Billing transaction. People are sure to make a ruckus on the web if they feel the have been treated unfairly...
by anton | Nov 19, 2014 |
Are you ready for the crazy Festive Season shopping to begin? Before you say yes, have a look at the payment options you are offering your customers. Is Mobile Billing one of them? If not, you will miss out on a potential gold mine. As you know, there are different kinds of Mobile Billing. For example: direct operator billing, premium SMS, event billing, OBS billing etc. It doesn’t matter which one you prefer, they all have one big thing in common: they make it as easy as pie for customers to pay for your products and services. And the easier it is to pay you, the more consumers will buy and the more times they will return. Sounds good? You bet. In-store Imagine a customer is standing in the line with a trolley full of goods. She unloads everything at the till point and suddenly she realizes (as it happens to everyone at one time or another) that she left her wallet at home. With all her credit cards and cash. Oh no! She will only have one choice – leave the shop and rush home to get her wallet. But, she feels so embarrassed about her mistake that she decides not to return to the shop, and you just lost a purchase of two thousand rand. If you offered Mobile Billing as a payment option, you could have avoided losing the customer. Because if she had to then, was take out her phone and pay you then and there. From home A lot of people hate to go shopping. Especially buying those last minute gifts – the malls...
by anton | May 28, 2014 |
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 | Apr 29, 2014 |
Mobile Billing (in the form of Direct Operator Billing) was first used for buying ringtones and wallpapers, but have since evolved into much more. Thanks to the rise of smartphones, it has become a convenient way for developers to monetize their apps, and a powerful tool for mobile operators to grab a piece of the “app economy” that’s estimated to be worth 25 billion dollars. Here is some interesting information gathered and presented by mobilepaymentstoday.com in association with Amdocs. 1. Direct Operator Billing (DOB) is also referred the most popular mobile payment in use today, even though all the hype is centred around cloud-based wallets. 3. More people in the U.S have mobile phones (6.8 billion) than bank accounts (3.5 billion) and credit cards (2.15 billion). 4. Credit card conversions are five times less than that of DOB with regards to mobile applications. It is estimated that users will spend around 11 billion dollars in 2016 on apps via DOB alone. 2012 will see it rise to 13 billion dollars. 5. Direct Operator Billing is most commonly used for digital goods, but holds the potential to support a diverse range of uses. 6. Despite its popularity, iTunes doesn’t offer DOB options in their market yet. Blackberry, Nokia and Google Play have all grabbed the opportunity to present this option to their customers. How can operators/ carriers take Mobile Billing to the next level? • Leverage existing billing relationships with consumers. • Work with leading app stores. • Leverage big data • Increase caps on available purchase price points • Move from premium SMS to Direct Operator Billing • Work...
