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 for such organisations comes from the bad history of premium SMS when some companies scammed people out of lots of money.
Thankfully, legitimate companies and charities are now seeing the benefit of using SMS payments as a way to allow customers to purchase goods or services or to make charitable donations. As a result consumer confidence in using SMS payments is rising again.
If you are planning to operate an SMS payment system in or out of any of these countries, you need to ensure your SMS payment provider is registered with the relevant regulatory body. Plus you might want to visit their website to see what information or help they can give you about their domestic SMS payments market such as what short codes can and cannot be used for in that particular country. Short codes are another name for premium SMS numbers used to collect SMS payments.
Australia
Canada
Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA)
Pakistan
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
Philippines
Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology
United Kingdom
