Whenever a company start thinking to implement mobile payment solution or product, sales team starts to communicate and set deals with merchants and banks, marketing team start to work on how to make it sexier, should we start with NFC, digital codes or with cam recognition!
It happens that technical, security and fraud team is also busy securing and tuning the service to make it extremely secure, fraud-less and fast as flash.
Afterwards when it comes to production, everybody is waiting and dreaming of the amazing traffic and the number of customers, who will love this service and become loyal to it, slowly it becomes clear that we have missed something for sure. Amazingly we have missed the passion fruit Cash-In!
mPesa, why and why not?
If you started in Kenya or any similar rural areas with no banking or wire transfer infrastructure, internet is a dream, and even if you are lucky and have a bank in your neighborhood, the possibility that “A” and “B” parties own a bank account is almost 0 percent.
It makes a sense that customer “A” will visit the next mobile station, which is almost every where, Cash-In and transfer to “B”, “B” is 100% a mobile owner – he maybe owns 2 or 3 lines even- and “B” will simply pass by the nearest mobile agent and Cash-Out.
But when it comes to payment, its really different and even harder than money transfer!
The payment logical filter!
Whenever your start your payment business you have to pass your product on the payment logical filter.
Imagine “Adam”, who owns Credit and ATM cards, and let\s assume that he will walk to the nearest ATM or bank branch, withdraw 100$, move to the nearest payment agent and Cash-In, back to the shop and asks the merchant to pay with his new digital mobile service and finally when he will realize that his total grocery bill is 120$. Now Adam is handing over his Credit card and with a quick swipe he is done!
How many patient Adam’s out there waiting for you and your digital product! I believe you should not be surprised by the results and just give it a try. Its painful, isn’t it?
Its not an easy task to compete with the long standing Credit card industry, and without an extreme effort from your side you will never make it.
Also it looks hard but there are possibilities to pass a product over the payment logical filter and it works!
In this series a different techniques and solutions will be discussed and it should help you to pass the test – the logical payment test!
1- Uniqueness is a key!
The first methodology to help your customers to forget the Cash-In pain is to offer a real unique service. It must be unique, and can’t be purchased via Credit card or Cash. It should be attractive and stands for a real customer’s need and would be great if it solves a real problem for them. This technique will make the paradigm shift and transfer the customer pain from Cash-In process to a different spot.
In some areas and due to some political or financial issues which may last for few weeks or even a month, people are suffering to refuel their cars, Gas station queue is so long and it takes few hours to get your turn at the bump.
Can you imagine if you finalized a deal with a Gas satiation and announced your Gas refill product, where customers will request the Gas and it will be delivered in 24 hours at the customer door. In this case the complicated Cash-In process will be like a peace of cake, and slowly the Gas queue will be waived to be a Cash-In queue. and with a reasonable fees you will start your next step where you have loyal customers now that still using your digital Gas product even-though the political or financial issue is over.
This should be an example of a unique product which also touches a real customer need!
Photo Credit: http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/topstories/2013/02/07/hi-iphone-cash.jpg