Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Jul 28, 2006
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Jul 28, 2006 |
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M-Commerce Info-Tech - Telecommunications Pay via mobile at restaurants! Preethi J.
Paymate allows users to make a transaction via text messaging. Both credit and debit card transactions can be performed without having to enter the numbers.
Bangalore , July 27 The future is here. You enter a restaurant, finish your food and ask for the bill. As you look for the waiter carrying a leather folder with the bill in it, your mobile beeps. An SMS requesting permission to debit your card with the billed amount has arrived. It's that easy with m-commerce. Paymate India, an m-commerce firm, is planning to offer this service at top restaurants in 20-45 days, beginning with metros. Mumbai will be the test bed for this service, said Mr Ajay Adiseshan, Founder and Managing Director, Paymate India. The firm is a spin-off from Coruscant Technologies, and has an office in Mumbai. The company just received a first round funding of $5 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Ram Shriram's Sherpalo Ventures. "We will begin with high-profile restaurants and hip and trendy joints where the customer base is more inclined to take up paying using mobiles," said Mr Adiseshan. The company will target coffee bars next. Paymate India has a substantial addressable market in India, with over 45 million credit/debit cards, 440 million bank accounts and lastly, 100 million mobile subscribers. Mobile commerce is a version of electronic commerce (e-commerce). Mobiles are currently being used to access account information, check bank balances, and now even stock quotes and for seeking financial advice. The accessibility and popularity of mobiles may soon allow it to replace the debit card as a portable cash device, predict experts. In particular, Paymate allows users to make a transaction via text messaging. Both credit and debit card transactions can be performed without requiring you to enter the numbers. Once the user registers with his bank to start using the Paymate service, he will be able to start paying bills through the mobile with no additional charges. Only, the user will have to pay up a little more for the SMS (called a premium SMS).
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