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Canada Telecoms Launch Mobile Payment Service

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the can-i-request-money-all-day dept.

GregDz11 writes to inform us that Canada's three main wireless companies will be launching a service that allows customers to send, request, and receive money via their mobile phones. "The service, called Zoompass, will be managed by Enstream, a joint venture the three carriers first established in 2005, when it was called Wireless Payment Services, to investigate the potential of mobile commerce. [...] Money can be drawn from an account the user sets up or from their credit card. Each withdrawal will cost 50 cents from the account, or 3.5 per cent of the transaction if from a credit card. (As a result, sending dollar amounts under $15 are actually cheaper to do using a credit card.)"

26 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. mobile is where it's at by stoolpigeon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    some day I'm going to try to explain to my grandkids about how we carried around computers that needed their own bags, that weighed 'pounds!' and they'll laugh at something so absurd.

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    1. Re:mobile is where it's at by rs79 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As if there needs to be another way to sink (lots of) money into the black hole that are commercial celphones. I'm still trying to figure out how to actually get Telus' "$15/mo unlimted text messages" to actually only cost $15/mo.

      Android/wifi/skype pls hrrythfckup.

      R
      While my guitar gently weeps.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    2. Re:mobile is where it's at by chebucto · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Bah!

      http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/

      Computers have entered new niches over time, but no format has ever gone out of use. Mainframes are still around, as are minicomputers, workstations, desktops, laptops, and subnotebooks. Even smartphones aren't anything terribly new, being just a combination of PDAs and cell phones.

      Rather, I think people will look back at our time and laugh at us for thinking that portable computers with full-sized keyboards would ever fall out of use :)

      --
      The English word fart is one of the oldest words in the English vocabulary.
    3. Re:mobile is where it's at by chebucto · · Score: 3, Informative

      Computers still fill up entire rooms!

      In fact, supercomputers seem to be getting bigger:

      http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/pr.nsf/pages/rsc.bluegene_2004.html (Blue Gene/L, 2004)

      http://www.chilton-computing.org.uk/ccd/literature/ccd_annual_reports/p002.htm (Cray X/MP, 1986)

      --
      The English word fart is one of the oldest words in the English vocabulary.
    4. Re:mobile is where it's at by snowraver1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I get free voicemail, free caller ID, Free web browsing to partner sites, and 100 text/MMS messages a month free.

      If you call them (*611, free call)and complain that when you start your phone's web browser it goes to their homepage automatically, thus charging you 2 cents, when you really want to get to a 3rd party site. So in effect, a 3rd party site costs 12 cents: 10 for the 3rd party site, plus 2 to view thier homepage. You do not have the ability to change your homepage.

      Ask them to just "block all partner sites". They will tell you that is not possible. Ask them to change your homepage to something else, or just not load anything at all. Agian, they will tell you that is not possible. Tell them that you are "fed up with telus nickel and dimeing you to death and that you *will not hang up until this issue is resolved*. 2 managers later, and I got a nice, permanent, perk.

      --
      Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. This comment may not be copied in any way including, but not limited to caching.
    5. Re:mobile is where it's at by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I was an early cell phone adopter, relatively speaking. I wasn't "early early" but I got one very early in the "push to mass market" phase of the Canadian business...about 1992 or 1993.

      I'm so tired of cell phone companies nickel and diming me, trying to extract every last cent for every single service...roaming rates with Fido were 25 cents/minute which was reasonable. With Rogers? $1/minute. What's changed? Did costs go up with the acquisition? No....just gouging.

      Contracts. They don't even discuss non-contracts anymore and Telus sends deceptive renewal letters that don't offer a "do nothing and keep your current plan" option. I mean I know that's an option, but if my mother got one of those...she'd think she had no choice but to do one of the three things, locking herself into a new contract.

      When I called last time to change my plan, they told me the per minute rate would go UP. Wait a minute....isn't this supposed to get cheaper as your costs get distributed across a larger subscriber base? They're going UP by 5 cents a minute?

      So...my next phone is likely to be a landline, regretfully procured from Telus but a landline nonetheless.

      Suck that egg, Mr. Telus.

    6. Re:mobile is where it's at by mdm-adph · · Score: 3, Informative

      Android/wifi/skype pls hrrythfckup.

      Try Sipdroid on Android. I think you'll find that it solves the problem somewhat nicely. It's not perfect, but then nothing ever is.

      --
      It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
  2. Heh... will the phones look like this? by sesshomaru · · Score: 2, Interesting

    possible early prototype?

    Oh, I guess not, the limit in the article is only $1,000 not 10 Million Yen...

    --
    "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  3. Overpriced by Bradmont · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why would you pay $.50 to use this when transactions on credit cards and (some) debit cards are free?

    1. Re:Overpriced by Hognoxious · · Score: 2, Funny

      [verizon] it's not $0.50, it's 50 cents [/]

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    2. Re:Overpriced by xednieht · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Agreed... sounds more like a mobile bank-robbing service.

      Cash is King

      --

      Hope is the currency of fools
    3. Re:Overpriced by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Exactly. And companies wonder why micro-trans won't take off here in the Western World.

      In a digital world there is no reason why it should cost more then $0.01.

    4. Re:Overpriced by Chirs · · Score: 4, Informative

      You're getting hosed.

      I use president's choice financial. Interac usage is free, as is the use of any CIBC bank machine (including the little ones in 7-11 stores). There is still a charge to take out cash from bank machines not owned by CIBC.

    5. Re:Overpriced by MeNeXT · · Score: 2, Informative

      Interact is ~$0.05 - $0.08

      Credit cards are 1.65%-1.9% unless you are high risk.

      You need to shop around and negotiate.

      How fast do they pay? What are the charge back fees? Can an item be contested? What are the terminal fees/requirements? .....

      --
      DRM? No thanks, I'll just get it somewhere else...
  4. Once this hits Verizon... by swanzilla · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...I can get hosed for random charges more conveniently. And pay 50 cents to do so!

    --
    0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
  5. 40 cents too much by shking · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If they're hoping to take over a significant share of transactions between private individuals (aka "consumers"), they're in for a rude shock. The service is grossly overpriced. Cash is free and most people get a certain number of free cheques / free withdrawls on their bank plans. Ten cents a transaction *might* be cheap enough

    --
    -- "At Microsoft, quality is job 1.1" -- PC Magazine, Nov. 1994
  6. Trust issues... by greed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm having trouble thinking of an organization I trust less than Canada's telecoms companies to handle my money.

    Has Bell figured out how to deal with incorrect direct payment transactions? When it happened to me, I had to have my bank block all transactions originated from Bell. Bell couldn't figure out how to identify the account making the bad transactions on their own--they actually needed the "payment refused" bounces from the bank. (They've got check-digits on account numbers now, but can they fix a problem from their end yet?)

    A friend on Roger's discovered his phone had been cloned. The Roger's people thought that there was nothing odd about his phone being used in Toronto and in south Florida at the very same time. (The small claims judge did think that was odd.)

  7. mobile wallet by Bradmont · · Score: 5, Funny

    FTA:

    The venture is the first tentative step toward a true mobile wallet

    My wallet has been mobile for years already...

    1. Re:mobile wallet by Time_Ngler · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sorry dude. I meant to rate this as funny but I accidentally hit overrated, so this reply will undo what I've done. So please accept this personal review of your comment. It is a quick witted humorous note.

  8. Usual 2 problems: by Seth+Kriticos · · Score: 3, Insightful

    1. They are too greedy and don't realise that only very few people would use the service at this rates, which effectively ruins the economy of scale calculations.

    2. You can't limit the debt you get, which increases the loss in cases of fraud. This should work like pre paid cards where loss is limited.

  9. Paying to spend money... by fremean · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I honestly hate the thought of paying money to spend money - surely it costs less to maintain a bank of computers then it costs to count and sort notes and coins. So many things have fee's for "digital" transactions these days - when in truth you're saving them a fortune (eg: cinema, $1 fee to buy and print your own ticket, 1: You're saving them staff at the counter, 2: You're saving them actual costs of printing the ticket. - and don't start with the "oh credit card fee" or "online processing costs money" cos surely if I were to pay with my credit card at the counter they'd cop the same fee)

  10. Official site by sitkill · · Score: 2, Informative

    Lacking from the summary:

    http://www.zoompass.com/

  11. Wrong. I take it you are an American? by brunes69 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    From the sounds of it you are an American.

    Canadian's don't carry cash. Period. At least not Canadians under 30. This is one area in which the US and Canada are vastly different... cash is now hardly used for any transactions in Canada anymore, at all.

    This service is actually very well priced because it is competing with E Interac email money transfers in Canada (EMT). Most banks charge you $1.50 to send an EMT if it is not covered by your banking plan. 50 cents is much less.

    I can tell you right now, this service is going to be immensely popular.

    1. Re:Wrong. I take it you are an American? by Yvan256 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      +10 informative about the "most Canadians under 30 don't carry cash" (I'd even say 35 or 40). I'm 37 and I find it odd when I have paper cash in my wallet.

  12. What's the purpose? by thethibs · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Compared to cash:

    • It's not anonymous. Every transaction will be recorded, and if there's a way to analyse and use that information against you, someone will.
    • It's not secure. The transaction data is radiated in all directions.
    • You're liable if your account is hacked.
    • 50 cents for the transaction, 15 cents each for the SMS message at each end = 80 cents per transaction versus nothing for cash.
    • One more thing that doesn't work if your battery is dead or you're out of range.
    • You still have to carry cash to deal with people who aren't part of the program.

    This is as bad an idea (for the consumer, that is) as debit cards.

    --
    I'm a Programmer. That's one level above Software Engineer and one level below Engineer.
  13. Because it is not for that by brunes69 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Your buddy who you owe $20 for the beer and pizza run does not take Interac or credit cards. That is the target market for this.