mChek launches on Airtel

Posted on | July 28, 2007 |

Bangalore based mobile payment company, mChek has launched a mobile bill payment service for Airtel postpaid users.

Airtel postpaid users across the country can pay their bills via SMS using any valid Visa credit card. mChek plans to add support for Mastercard credit cards shortly. The service is entirely free to the user.

How it works:

Airtel users need to sign-up for this service by sending sms MCHEK to 121 or by going to www.mchek.com. Signing-up involves registering the credit card and creating a 4-digit mChekPIN.

Paying your current bill is simple, sms MPAY to 121.

One can specify the payment amount by smsing MPAY 199 to 121.

Paying on other’s behalf is also possible. E.g. To pay Rupees 325 on behalf of 9810098100, sms MPAY 325 9810098100 to 121.

After sending the MPAY sms, user is asked to enter his mChekPIN (over a USSD call). On successful entry of mChekPIN, the transaction is completed and he receives an instant receipt.

IVRS-based mobile bill payment services have been around for some time now. But as far as I know, this is the first service of its kind.

• It has support across all circles of the operator - Airtel
• It is integrated into the main 121 system of Airtel
• The transaction is posted into the Airtel billing system instantly
• The entire process - registration and payment - is through mainstream access channels like SMS & USSD

mChek can become a mpayment aggregator and increase its usefulness by enrolling utility and e-ticketing companies. Online utility bill payments through credit cards is fast gaining adoption. The reason is simple - paying bills online saves you the hassles of queues and cheques. It also earns you some credit card points. If the same facility, simplicity, security and convenience is extended to a larger population by way of mobiles - it can be a hit.

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