Mobile Money and Ecommerce

All of us dread the awkward moment when you're with friends or acquaintances and you have to split a bill. Some people have the cash and others have only brought a card with them. The restaurant is unwilling to split the bill and you must decide who is going to foot the bill and risk not getting all of their money back. When eating on your own, shopping as an individual or when using an ecommerce solution, you rarely have to split a bill. However a new app, the Barclays Pingit system, has arrived to put an end to all the awkward shuffling and poor excuses.

Mobile Payments and M-Commerce

Barclays have developed a smartphone app to permit person-to-person cash transfers of up to £300. Users who have an account with Barclays - and from March anyone with a UK bank account - can download the app, link it to their phone number, and then send cash to anybody who has linked their mobile number to their account. What I think makes the Pingit system stand out compared to previously failed m-commerce cash transfer initiatives is two things, the fact that it is addressing a real problem and the technology behind it. The problem it solves is the everyday need by thousands of people to send small amounts of money to friends and businesses, quickly and easily. Your mobile phone number can become the key to your bank account without you having to hand over your banking details to anyone who wants to pay you.

Mobile Money and M-Commerce can make you money

Smartphones and their apps have become the norm and not the exception. Millions of people – my mum included – use apps every day. Most people understand how apps work and own the technology to start using this initiative. If you operate an ecommerce solution or sell online you should be equally excited. We can expect more apps, more innovation and the real possibility that your mobile phone will become your choice of payment. But this time it might really be true. Why should you be excited about this? M-Commerce. Shopping on mobile devices in the UK is set to increase by 53% in the next 12 months and spending will hit £4.5billion. The ability is there for customers to shop using through m-commerce and pay with that very same device, through Pingit. Is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to sell directly and quickly to their customers. Customers using a mobile device to make a purchase on an ecommerce solution encounter a number of problems. For example, it can be difficult to read descriptions and you can often tap the wrong thing. This was the catalyst for M-Commerce and now we see new technologies, such as Pingit, have developed as a consequence of this mobile revolution.

It's an exciting time for online retailers. Make sure you don't get left behind, call Advansys on 0845 838 2700 to talk about your E-Commerce Solution or M-Commerce Solution.