Cap Gemini undertakes an annual report on how payments are processed.
One statistic jumps out: “The volume of mobile payments is expected to grow at almost a 50 per cent rate in the next three years.” These are payments made using a cellphone or mobile wallet, rather than cash, cheque or credit card.
Most of us are familiar with mobile payment as the platform for making iTunes purchases or buying apps on the iPhone. Many transit systems allow their clients to pay using cellphones or another form of mobile. In developing countries, mobile is increasingly the vehicle of choice for very small transactions.
Over the next few years, mobile payment will become an increasingly important platform for transactions, for obvious reasons. The ease of payment enables upfront transaction clearances that increase the vendors cash flow. You aren’t waiting for a cheque to clear or a payment to come in the mail.
Governments are beginning to pick up on this opportunity. Not only does mobile payment increase the options for citizens and allow better service, but it brings forward accounts payable and improves the cash flow of state-owned enterprises.
Last year, Arkansas adopted a mobile payment option for various state services. “Arkansas became the first state to provide secure payment processing specifically for smartphone users, and the Arkansas.gov mobile website is part of the official state website.”
Intriguingly, the article reports “the Department of Correction’s inmate deposit service has been especially popular, with more than 1,300 secure payments processed so far.” More impressively, the mobile version of Arkansas.gov features two state officials who will respond to texts asking questions about government services.
Another hotbed for mobile innovation is Haiti.
Prior to the earthquake, few Haitians had been inside a bank. The Gates Foundation and U.S. government spurred mobile cellphone banking and micropayment processing to re-establish credit lending to the poor.
USAID also established mobile-enabled banking in Afghanistan. They sponsored the “creation of a nationwide mobile financial services sector – using mobile phones to transfer money safely and instantly, reducing the need for cash and giving millions of Afghans who may never see the inside of a bank the ability to use their handsets to conduct basic financial transactions.”
Local, provincial and federal government departments will need to quickly adapt to the shifting habits of consumers. Citizens no longer write cheques. The old fashioned cheque is less than 15 per cent of the non-cash transactions currently in use, according to Cap Gemini’s study.
Governments were leaders in the move to e-commerce. On-line payment processing for everything from income tax returns to parking tickets helped lower transaction costs and improve cash flows for government, while improving service to citizens.
Government should be leading again, and making mobile payment a better option for interaction with citizens.Cap Gemini undertakes an annual report on how payments are processed.
One statistic jumps out: “The volume of mobile payments is expected to grow at almost a 50 per cent rate in the next three years.” These are payments made using a cellphone or mobile wallet, rather than cash, cheque or credit card.
Most of us are familiar with mobile payment as the platform for making iTunes purchases or buying apps on the iPhone. Many transit systems allow their clients to pay using cellphones or another form of mobile. In developing countries, mobile is increasingly the vehicle of choice for very small transactions.
Over the next few years, mobile payment will become an increasingly important platform for transactions, for obvious reasons. The ease of payment enables upfront transaction clearances that increase the vendors cash flow. You aren’t waiting for a cheque to clear or a payment to come in the mail.
Governments are beginning to pick up on this opportunity. Not only does mobile payment increase the options for citizens and allow better service, but it brings forward accounts payable and improves the cash flow of state-owned enterprises.
Last year, Arkansas adopted a mobile payment option for various state services. “Arkansas became the first state to provide secure payment processing specifically for smartphone users, and the Arkansas.gov mobile website is part of the official state website.”
Intriguingly, the article reports “the Department of Correction’s inmate deposit service has been especially popular, with more than 1,300 secure payments processed so far.” More impressively, the mobile version of Arkansas.gov features two state officials who will respond to texts asking questions about government services.
Another hotbed for mobile innovation is Haiti.
Prior to the earthquake, few Haitians had been inside a bank. The Gates Foundation and U.S. government spurred mobile cellphone banking and micropayment processing to re-establish credit lending to the poor.
USAID also established mobile-enabled banking in Afghanistan. They sponsored the “creation of a nationwide mobile financial services sector – using mobile phones to transfer money safely and instantly, reducing the need for cash and giving millions of Afghans who may never see the inside of a bank the ability to use their handsets to conduct basic financial transactions.”
Local, provincial and federal government departments will need to quickly adapt to the shifting habits of consumers. Citizens no longer write cheques. The old fashioned cheque is less than 15 per cent of the non-cash transactions currently in use, according to Cap Gemini’s study.
Governments were leaders in the move to e-commerce. On-line payment processing for everything from income tax returns to parking tickets helped lower transaction costs and improve cash flows for government, while improving service to citizens.
Government should be leading again, and making mobile payment a better option for interaction with citizens.
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