PayMate launches mobile payment solution with Citibank

Posted on | July 20, 2006 |

PayMate, a mobile payments company spun off by Coruscant Tec, has collaborated with Citibank and Euronet to launch a mobile payment solution for Citibank customers.

Heres how PayMate works:

• Citibank customers need to sign up for this service with the bank by simply sending “PayMate” as an SMS to 2484.
• The customer will then be called back and registered for the service following which they can conveniently shop at Rediff, Naukri, Cleartrip, Jeevansaathi and 99 Acres for their products.
• Once the product has been selected, the user would send a single SMS with pin (provided by the bank) confirming the transaction.
• On receiving this SMS, the bank will verify the user’s mobile number with the account and on confirmation will debit the account accordingly.
• The merchant and the customer will receive a confirmation message from the bank approving the transaction.

A mobile payment platform such as PayMate could potentially see users buy their airline tickets, railways tickets, shop for their personal needs such as groceries, apparels etc. and pay through their mobile wallet.

Ajay Adiseshann, Founder & MD, PayMate:

“The demand for VAS from mobile phones is growing at a tremendous rate, thus we are bringing in new services, better applications, richer content and continuous connection capabilities. PayMate is a robust and convenient m-commerce solution, which will provide benefits to all members of the ecosystem, ranging from the operator, to the service provider all the way to the end consumer. We are initially offering PayMate with Rediff, Naukri, Cleartrip, Jeevansaathi and 99 Acres, and are already in talks with several other service providers thereby giving customers’ greater options.”

Kumar Apurva-National Head:- Mobility, New Media & Ad Sales, Naukri.com:

“The Naukri.com group has believed in constant innovation and this year a major thrust is to go beyond the web and deliver relevant content on multiple devices and multiple platforms. We see huge scope in an application like PayMate as VAS in India is still driven by SMS, and the efficiency of a payment solution like PayMate looks very promising.”

PayMate India recently received its first round of funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Sherpalo Ventures.

The following are touted as salient features of PayMate:

• PayMate allows mobile subscribers to make payments for merchant services using their cell phones. It is connected to merchants and banks to enable transactions.
• PayMate does not require any additional software or Mobile SIM upgrade to process transactions.
• Users just require a basic entry level phone with SMS enabled to transact, which is available on all cell phones in India.
• PayMate allows for a transaction to be completed with a single SMS (one click) technology.
• It is the only solution which will allow for both credit and debit card transactions using a mobile phone.
• Users are not required to disclose banking information.
• Offers safe and secure transactions as the platform does not operate over the public domain unlike the internet but over the signaling system which is secure.
• The trust model is based on the recommendations by Ernst & Young; which provides the security measures for both the bank as well as the customer.

Source: Press Release

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