Tag: mobile payments system

Mobile payments in Ghana connected to widespread switch

| January 1, 2014

There has been a transition that has occurred throughout the entire country.

A major change has been going on in Ghana, where all banks will soon be able to bring in mobile payments as an offering for their customers, following enhancements that have been made to the interbank switching and processing system in the country.

This was done by Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), a Bank of Ghana subsidiary.

The enhancements that were made to the national switch were to the gh-link platforms. That is the interbank switching and processing system from GhIPSS which interconnects switches that are run by the country’s various financial institutions and third party institution owned systems. GhIPSS came up with a gh-link mobile payments system in partnership with eTranzact, a Nigerian transaction company. The introduction of gh-link mobile is an element of the mandate from the GhIPSS to turn Ghana into a society that functions with digital transactions. This, according to the chief executive of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse.

Hesse explained that the mobile payments system has been developed and will soon be tested.

Mobile Payments and Ghana BanksThe mobile payments system has already been created. Its testing will begin near the start of 2014 before it will officially be rolled out. All of the country’s banks will then be able to add smartphone based transactions to their offerings.

In 2012, gh-link ATM was introduced by GhIPSS, which gives the debit cards in the country the ability to be use in nearly all of the ATMs throughout the entire country. The Ghana News Agency reported that officials from GhIPSS official have been meeting with other transaction companies. For instance, meetings with MasterCard have brought about integration with cards that are branded by that credit card company into the gh-link platform of ATMs.

Furthermore, beyond mobile payments, GhIPSS has also started a pilot project that uses gh-link hybrid PoS (point of sale) terminals that allow customers of the banks in the country to be able to shop using their local ATM cards. The smartphone based transactions will be added on top of that gh-link platform in order to provide consumers with an added level of flexibility.

Mobile payments wallet, Isis, goes nationwide

| November 18, 2013

The joint venture from T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T has now finally launched throughout the U.S.

The approach of the Isis mobile payments wallet launch was first reported by Mobile Commerce Press from the Money2020 event, and now the day has finally come in which the service has rolled out across the United States so that users will be able to use their devices to pay for their purchases.

Now the market is wondering whether or not Isis will be any more successful than its many competitors.

Although there are around 40 handsets that are considered to be compatible with Isis mobile payments, they still represent a considerable minority of the devices currently owned by Americans. This has generated significant skepticism as to whether or not the carrier backed venture will have any more luck than its primary competition, Google Wallets, which remains primary little known and little used.

Furthermore, there are many other barriers to adoption presented by this mobile payments method.

Mobile Payments - IsisEven among consumers who do have the right type of smartphones – which are exclusively Android based and require specific types of technology – using this mobile payments system isn’t merely a matter of obtaining the wallet app. Though an app is required from the Play Store in order to use the service, there is also a physical update that must be made to the device before purchases can be made.

In order to use the “contactless” mobile payments from Isis, the smartphone user with the right kind of Android device will need to head to AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon Wireless in order to obtain an “enhanced” SIM card in order to improve the security on the device so that it will be possible to safely use the service. Once that card has been activated, then credit and debit cards can be added to the digital wallet, and the consumer can find retailers, restaurants, and other locations which accept this form of transaction.

The number of shoppers across the United States who will actually choose to make this effort to select Isis mobile payments over others – or traditional card and cash-based methods – has yet to be seen.