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Belgian mobile operator BASE has launched an m-payments service which enables its subscribers to pay merchants using SMS text messaging. The service also allows subscribers to top up their BASE prepaid mobile phone accounts from their bank accounts.
According to Gemalto, the service went live at the end of March. It uses m-payment technology from Gemalto and Belgian payments processor Banksys which is compatible with third-generation SIM cards.
Banksys’s m-banxafe software provides the link between a BASE subscriber’s SIM card and bank card, Gemalto says.
During the activation process, subscribers create an m-payment PIN using the menu on their handsets. The subscriber then has to insert a bank card into a POS terminal at a BASE store or into an ATM to create a link between their bank account and m-payment PIN.
Gemalto says that BASE is now issuing all new subscribers with an m-banxafe-enabled SIM card. It says BASE subscribers will be able to use their handsets to pay for services such as home deliveries, taxi rides or baby-sitting.
According to Gemalto, the merchant has to enter a payment request into his mobile phone. After receiving this request, the customer specifies the amount and the merchant’s name on their handset screen and accepts the transaction by entering an m-payment PIN. Then both the customer and the merchant receive an SMS message confirming the transaction.
