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Do You Accept Cellphone Payments?
beuges writes "In one of South Korea's latest efforts to establish itself as a technology trendsetter, the country's three telecom giants, major credit card companies and several banks have been working for a year to enable Koreans to pay for everything from groceries to petrol by cellphone."
Perhaps the real story here is how far behind the US is in the widespread use of mobile phone technology...
Can't read the article as it's been slashdotted but the concept makes sense. Telcos are one of the few businesses which have the processing of micropayments (small amounts of money for small amounts of utility) as a core competency.
You can currently buy a Coke in Australia from a vending machine by using your mobile phone to dial the machine with the cost being tacked onto your bill. However currently this is limited to one carrier (Telstra) and of course caller ID has to be enabled for it to work.
a world in progress...
SMSes have taken over bullshit systems like PayPal as far as micropayments in Europe go. The real problem is the telecoms. Here in Poland, their cut is at least 30%, and this is on a huge discount, massive volume number - usually it's around 50%. So my friend, who runs a service that lives off SMS payments, after taxes gets about 35% of the money his customers spend. It's a shame, almost everybody in Europe has a cell phone (or at least access to one) and it's much easier, secure and impulse-buyable then any kind of credit/debit/virtual bank system.
This is the kind of Technology I like to see.
Should be interesting for Americans to see other countries are able to innovate aswell.
I for one think we should integrade as many technologies into the cell phone as possible IE: Camera, Phone, Email, addressbook, Global Positioning System, Environment Controls for Home Central Air system, Universal Entertainment Remote for TV DVD etc... calculator, the list goes on and on, sure why not make purchases with it too. Model it after the Star Trek (tm) Tri-corder and Beam me up Scotty!
Here in the Netherlands there are a bunch of places where you can pay for car parking by cellphone. You send an SMS message (or place a call) to a number when you park, along with an area code, and you send another one when you leave. They'll deduct the time you were in the parkingspace from your account (you set up an account beforehand).
Check Emopay (in Dutch only, sorry), for more information.
Cheers,
Costyn.
The Official Steve Ballmer Webpage
yeah... could we get a few more convicted monopolists into this system? perhaps Microsoft could build the proprietary network interface to handle all this secure data transfer and storage via passport or something...
are we just -hoping- that they decide to play nice with their fees and standards and data security?
sure it -sounds- like a good idea... wait no. it only sounds -futuristic-. it sounds like something spock would do at a vending machine. so it must be good right?
please. is swiping a plastic card so difficult?
even ignoring the added security problems of a wireless network - it just sounds unnecessary.
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
There's no reason why an infrared or bluetooth port on a cellphone couldn't be made to unlock doors and start ignitions. Think how great would it be to only need one device to communicate, start your car, and pay for whatever you need when you go out.
Up until now, the cell phone has added yet another thing to take with you and keep track of when you go out. Instead, with a bit of innovation using already-existing technologies, it could easily be the only thing you need to bring. I'd be more than happy to skip the camera/color screen/instant messaging features for my next phone -- what I really want is for my cellphone get rid of my keys and wallet.
I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
Starbucks has been workign on this for years.
Heres a partical quote from the page.
[April 3, 2002]
"Starbucks Express
Starbucks just reported results of its trial wireless pre-order process for improving service. (One thing most consumers like less than paying high prices for a double tall latte is waiting in a very long line to order one.)
With this trial program, consumers are able to order coffee and baked goods wirelessly and pick up the order at a special counter about four minutes later. The order is automatically charged to a credit card. This new service, "Starbucks Express" should cut down on customer wait times, at least in theory, and begin to build a mobile commerce channel for the Seattle-based retailer. Consumers are even able to pre-program their phones and then just press one digit to order their beverage of choice and a cranberry scone to go with it. "
TruePunk | Games
saw this exact thing in finland, three years ago, and who knows how long they'd been doing it.
movie tickets to get put on-call, coffee and a croissant (or ruisbread?), there are places where you have a series of SMS numbers and short code messages to send to them, then your phone just gets billed (terribly, terribly secure, i know). f'rinstance, the cafe at the bus station in helsinki has a secondary menu with popular items and their codes. if the line is too long you can order through there while you chunk away at one of their computers and then listen as tika-tika-tika your order comes out of a small credit card-looking machine on the counter. heck, you could even order a few minutes before you got there; this comes in handy, too, when your country is dark and under snow for several months out of the year. i'm surprised it took a tech-savvy place like korea this long to make it noteworthy.
- emilio
neurostyle dot net - it's all in your head