Airwallex review: an excellent global account, if they accept you
Airwallex business account is not for everyone, but low fees and a good service could make it the best. We tested it and review the service.
iZettle rebrands to Zettle by PayPal
From 10 February 2021, iZettle is no longer called that. Learn more about the decision behind its new branding.
Coronavirus can be transmitted via payment terminal buttons and banknotes
Money is the ultimate carrier of coronavirus, and this is true for both cash and card machines. Here's what the research says and how to minimise spread.
What are SMS payments?
SMS payments can work for large and small companies alike, as well as charities. Find out how you can use SMS payments and if there are any advantages.
Mobile banking, the new and easier way to bank in Pakistan
Since 1947, Pakistan’s banking sector has come a long way. The current estimated population of Pakistan exceeds 182 million out of which roughly only 7% use banking services. With a network of 12,000 branches across Pakistan the banking footprint is well established, but has also been deemed insufficient. Taking [...]
M-Pesa: Yet to make an impact in India
M-Pesa has established itself globally as one of the most successful mobile micro-finance and money transfer services. Its network consists of the following countries and regions: Afghanistan, South Africa, parts of Eastern Europe, Kenya, and India. Vodafone, India’s second largest mobile operator introduced M-Pesa in India in 2011. It has [...]
Pakistan’s Easypaisa makes banking popular and accessible
Pakistan’s first mobile based branchless banking service, Easypaisa, is the creation of Tameer Microfinance Bank and the international telecommunication giant, Telenor. Established in 2009, the service is now accessible in more than 800 cities and towns throughout Pakistan. It has an average of six million users per month. In [...]
Predicted growth of use of mobile wallet and NFC payments
NFC and mobile wallet payments around the world are expected to surge in line with the growth in smartphones, as customers become more used to mobile payments.
Number of mobile phones around the world – by country and region
There are approximately 5,082,665,820 mobile phones in use around the world today. Mobile phone ownership around the world is clearly highlighted in the pie chart below. We have also broken down mobile phone use by region for those countries for which data on mobile phone ownership is available. [...]
SMS payments and charities
Charities have become important users of SMS payments, both to raise money and to give direct help. What are real-life examples of this?
The bad press history of SMS payments
SMS payments had negative publicity in the press in the early years due to some unscrupulous behaviour, although this is not the case anymore.
Who is using SMS payments and mobile payments and where?
The use of the mobile phone as a wallet or payment device is growing rapidly as companies, financial institutions and customers come to grips with the technology and the possibilities that it brings for mobile payments. Here are just some case studies showing real-life examples of SMS payments and [...]
How to block premium SMS messages, step by step
Receiving nuisance premium SMS messages? Here's the general step-by-step instructions for blocking premium text messages you're receiving by mistake.
Predicted growth in mobile payments in Asia Pacific
China has the largest number of mobile phone users in the world at the moment, with 987,580,000 mobile phones in use, closely followed by India, with 903,727,208. Japan and Indonesia are also in the top ten countries worldwide for mobile phone ownership. Asia Pacific is a big market for mobile [...]
What is the difference between an SMS gateway and an SMS payment gateway?
An SMS gateway is a facility to allow the sending and receiving of SMS messages. SMS gateways are maintained and operated by mobile phone operators. An SMS payment gateway is a piece of code, an application, installed onto a web page by a SMS payment provider to enable businesses to [...]
Growing use of SMS payments around the world
United States of America In the USA most mobile phone operators, banks and developers are banking on NFC technology being the key technology to the growth of mobile payments. In the United States users can already use smartphones to pay for goods (Starbucks, MobilePay USA) or to accept payments for [...]
Security of SMS Payments
SMS payments are incredibly secure. This is the main point you need to emphasise to your customers, to reassure them that any SMS payment transaction will be safe for them. When you come to ask for payments via SMS remind them that because the customer doesn't need to enter in [...]
How do SMS payments work for users?
Read about how text (SMS) payments work and the types of transactions they can be used for.
What are Micropayments?
Micropayments are financial transactions that involve a very small sum of money. PayPal defines a micropayment as anything less than USD 12, whereas Visa classifies anything less than USD 20 as a micropayment. Traditionally it has been difficult, financially, to recoup the costs involved in processing micropayments. With SMS billing, [...]
Organisations overseeing SMS payments – by country
To protect consumers from unscrupulous companies, many countries have set up a regulatory framework to reassure their customers that it is safe to use any SMS payment provider registered with them and also to offer them a place where they can raise any concerns about SMS payments. The need [...]
Person to Person SMS Payments
Being able to transfer money directly from one mobile phone to another is the attraction of person to person SMS payments, particularly in countries such as India and Kenya where most people don't have access to banks, or in other countries such as Japan, to enable foreign workers to send [...]
Premium SMS – instant SMS payments for your website
SMS payment means using text messages to pay for products or services. Mobile phone users can send text messages to a predefined number with a certain text. The mobile phone carrier will then add the cost to the user's normal monthly bill or deduct it from the prepaid balance. [...]