I was proposing that telcos can be transaction gateways like VISA or Google Checkout – banks carry financial risk underwriting liabilities, and that is a different story. Re: success of premium SMS, I would put that down to televoting, competitions and other brand-led campaigns where the customer surplus is high (to not mind paying a premium on an impulse) and the volume of participation is high (so that there are 10s/100s of thousands of users paying so as to offset to large revenue cut eaten by the operator and aggregator(s).

- Andreas

Vageli – we 'll let you know, although Greece is not likely to be the country where SMS micropayments are launched

- Andreas

Right – Amazon have introduced their mobile payment system for people who already have accounts (and CC details) with Amazon. But I would argue this is a very small proportion of the 4B mobile phone user base.

Re: Pay by SMS: agreed, there is no guarantee for 100% delivery of an SMS, but I don't think it's a deterent; you send another one. Re: security and fraud: I would ask what's the percentage of people losing their phone vs losing their CC. Given that people are more attached to their phones (they use it more often), it's likely to be reported as stolen more easily. Plus the SMS payment system can work by sending you a confirmation code by SMS which you then type into the web page. So even if your phone is lost, the would-be-thief doesn't know where to enter the confirmation code.

You make a really good point about 'combining various bill under single umbrella of your mobile account could trigger a purchase diet'. What I think will happen at that point is that you 'll get two bills from the operator: one for your mobile/data traffic and another (different colour/style) for your 'mobile supermarket' purchases. It's again a question of consumer perception and educational campaigns towards changing established perceptions.

Andreas

Nokia do lack an existing monetary relationship with the consumer – same as Apple pre-iTunes. Apple makes it difficult to NOT enter your credit card info as part of the iPhone unboxing process; in other words the trick is to get the CC info at the peak of the 'honeymoon' experience. Nokia can do the same. Plus Nokia have a very sophisticated, global marketing machine (which btw Nokia considers one of their unique selling points) that can educate consumers about 'what you can do with your phone'. Finally, they have a stronger consumer brand than Google, so might succeed where Google Checkout failed.

- Andreas

The problem with payments provided by service providers (like telcos/e-retailers) is that they are not a bank and dont have the processes, experience and will to become one.

The reason for the success of payments based on premium SMS is that it is not used for "advaned/high cost" services.

So, the sooner the better1

On the other hand – pay-by-sms is not as easy as it sounds. SMS can be lost (e.g. due to low signal) or delayed (due to network congestions). But the real problem is with security and fraud. Phones must support protection features against malicious use, e.g. when they are lost, stolen or simply unattended.

Another issue I see is with the phone bill that grows as a result of billing for purchases. When users who make small-money purchase decision almost without thinking (much like sending an SMS) will start that notice their monthly bill remembers each and every of these decisions, and that the total sum may be too big, so next time they want to buy a $1 item they will recall it and might think twice before buying. Somewhat like a diet – you eat without notice until one time you meet the scale and discover that you've gained some extra kilos and decide to go on a diet Combining various bill under single umbrella of your mobile account could trigger a purchase diet.

via <a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/visionmobile">@visionmobile: Why mobile can bring back the value to the Internet http://tinyurl.com/ycrqytg