E-Commerce

Mobile payment is a new and rapidly-adopting alternative payment method. In fact, this mobile payment has been adopted well in many countries. Instead of paying with cash, check or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for wide range of services and digital or hard goods such as:

Ø Music, videos, ringtones, online game subscription or items, wallpapers and other digital goods.

Ø Transportation fare (bus, subway or train), parking meters and other services

Ø Books, magazines, tickets and other hard goods.

There is a tremendous potential for mobile telecommunication networks to become an important electronic payment channel in Malaysia considering that about100% of Malaysia’s 27 million people had a mobile telephone service by early 2009.

According to Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the high penetration rate affirmed mobile phone networks as an increasingly popular channel for Malaysians to perform a plethora of activities beyond voice communication, encompassing all forms of digital communication, commerce, banking and payments. Certainly, payment via text messaging has the potential to grow in importance.

With 27 million mobile phone subscribers in Malaysia, it is believed that there are huge opportunities to leverage on mobile phones to accelerate the migration to electronic payments, to widen the reach and appeal of electronic payment services, and to deliver innovative mobile payment products that offer speed and convenience at minimal cost for the consumers. Besides that, it also provides an opportunity to enable cost-effective method of delivering financial services in the remote areas.

In addition, there is increasing attractiveness of the mobile network as a payment channel because it is a shared integrated network with common security level and common messaging standards which would make it easier to attract consumers. Furthermore, it is also more cost-effective and convenient for consumers, vendors and service providers to execute and receive payments.

With mobile payment, consumers are believed to be more comfortable with low-value transactions because it allows everyone to make payment or receive money at anytime and anywhere with just one text messaging (SMS). In fact, this helps the consumers especially when the consumers are in need of cash but they do not have any in hand, therefore, with mobile payments they do not need to withdraw money from ATM machine which is time-consuming.

As for vendors and business, they can easily do their businesses at anything from anywhere with mobile payment system. This will increase their business opportunities as mobile payment system can be done with lower maintenance cost and transaction.

In Malaysia, there are mobile payments available to citizens such as Redtone, Maxis, Digi, Maybank, Hong Leong Bank, Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd, and mobileExec Sdn Bhd.

In order to encourage consumers to adopt mobile payment system, first and for most, we must know what kind of benefits a mobile payment system can deliver to the users. The following are some of the benefits of the mobile payment system:

1. Compatibility: Compatibility captures the consistency between an innovation and the values, experiences, and needs of potential adopters.

2. Complexity: Complexity and problems with usability have contributed to the low adoption of a variety of payment systems, including smart cards and mobile banking.

3. Relative advantages of mobile payment systems: Mobile payments provide consumers with everywhere purchase possibilities, timely access to financial assets and an alternative to cash payments.

4. Payment system security and trust in payment systems providers: In a mobile environment, lack of consumer perceived security and trust in vendors and payment systems is one of the main barriers to electronic and mobile commerce transactions.

After understanding the benefits of mobile payment system, consumers would be more likely to adopt mobile payment system.

One of examples of mobile payments available in Malaysia is Mobile Money (MM Wallet). Mobile Money is a PIN-based Mobile Payment Solution designed by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd to address the limitations and bottlenecks created by cash, cheques and credit cards. It allows registered users to pay for goods and services at anytime, anywhere using only a mobile phone coupled with a 6-digit security PIN via SMS. To know how Mobile Money works, please click on this link

Related Links:

http://www.mobilepaymentsworld.com/

http://www.mohitagrawal.com/2009/04/mobile-payments-will-consumers-adopt.html

http://www.mobilepayment.com/

http://www.neowave.com.my/mobilemoney_overview.asp

www.mobile-money.com