Mobile Payment system in Malaysia: it's potentials & consumers' adoption strategies

Over the past decade, the introduction of new technologies has transformed the payment industry and consumers’ payment/purchase behavior. Alongside shifts in payment channels, payment instruments are also changing. So, what’s next? Industry experts cite mobile payments—the exchange of financial value between two parties using a mobile device [e.g., mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA)]—as the wave of the future.

Malaysians can now enjoy a secure and convenient way to conduct mobile commerce using a GSM cellular phone. TeleMoney, the country's first mobile payment service via multi-channel access for Internet and wireless transactions, was launched Tuesday, and is expected to fully operational in the first quarter of 2002.

It is a service free of banks and telco dependence; a customer with a credit card or debit card with a cellular phone can register for this service.

All one needs is a GSM phone and a TeleMoney personal identification number, connecting it to a credit card, debit card, stored valued card, bank account or even the phone account.

Systems@Work is the mover behind TeleMoney and Hong Leong Bank has picked the former as its master merchant while the bank acts as a settlement, clearing and payment bank for the service in Malaysia.

mailto:Systems@Work chief executive officer Ng Fook Sun said the company is now working with four companies who will offer Internet and mobile commerce services via TeleMoney: Cordoda Corporation, Nanyang Online, Xchange.com.my and HP Mobile e-services Bazaar.

Meanwhile, Celcom, a telco with a 2.1 million active subscriber base in the country, is also collaborating with Systems@Work in a bid to support the growth of mobile commerce in Malaysia.

Celcom's senior vice-president of group corporate planning and product development Zubir A Rasid said he hopes at least 50,000 out of its 800,000 post-paid customers will sign up for TeleMoney.

"It will initially be offered for our post-paid subscribers," he said.
Celcom subscribers signing up for TeleMoney can use the telco's micro-bill mode of payment which allows them to charge transactions below RM50 (US$13.16) to their phone bill.

Reference:
http://www.neowave.com.my/mobilemoney_overview.asp
http://www.mobile-money.com/