Their crystal ball gazing in 2006 has turned out to be a very accurate prediction.
Cash is king in the rural hinterlands of most developing countries but this is a far from secure arrangement. According to the report 3.5 million people in the Philippines were then using a service that allowed them to transfer money over the two major mobile networks.
The ability to make remote payments in this fashion is a win-win for the consumer, the operator and the retailer.
In 2010 major credit card companies such as Mastercard have opened their API to App. developers and companies such as Paypal are keen to remind everyone that they remain very much in the game. PayPalX has already been integrated into many applications and they have recently turned their attemtion to the possibilities of Google's Android.
Twitpay uses the power of micro blogging to make a micro payment and is also intregated with Paypal.
Another big mover in the micropayment market is Boku which does away with the need for any form of plastic card. They claim a 60% conversion rate as opposed to 7% using traditional credit cards on line.
Four key things to consider when selecting a provider:
- who understands the current digital climate best and is adapting their product to meet the market?
- who has the lowest fees? - per transaction, hidden costs?
- which system provides the easiest integration with your current operation?
- who has a proven track record and longevity? (there have been many micropayment providers that have failed in the past so my advice is to stick to the tried and true)
Most of the past debate around micro payments has been in paying for content in publications, with Mr Murdoch (not surprising) being a staunch advocate. The debate will rage until the case is commercially proven, either way.
The fact remains that people are prepared to make micro payments for the services that interest them and there is also an opportunity to capitalise upon impulse buying.
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