David Reynders, managing director of Pocit said, “Pocit has multiple applications and in its short life we have extended rapidly to multiple areas including donations to political parties by cellphone and buying direct from magazine ads by cellphone. However, but nothing has worked quite like the airtime and cellphone enthusiasm on university campuses. “Whereas those over the age of 30 often struggle with concepts or a range of concerns including safety – and cellphone payments are, so Vodacom tells us, the safest way to use money anywhere in the world – students, those in school or at university, just get it. They have an inherent passion and ability for mobile technology. Students are the highest users of cellphones whether calls, SMS, instant messaging, surfing and games, they see cellphones as a natural part of their lives and financial services using their cellphone is part of that.”
While students’ form the biggest block of Pocit users, their purchases tend to remain relatively small and mostly for airtime. The biggest spenders on Pocit are a surprisingly conservative and much older group – doctors and other medical practitioners who use Pocit to ensure faster payment times of medical bills. Essentially what happens is when a patient visits a doctor, the medical practitioner’s practice manager informs Healthbridge, Pocit’s sister company which processes medical payments. Healthbridge then uses Pocit inform the patient of the outstanding amount and offer a secure and convenient way to pay. Doctors report that they get payment within, on average, 24 hours of the visit. “It is significant,” Reynders says, “that doctors, a conservative group, trust Pocit to safely and reliably ensure payment. But the huge attention to Pocit by university students means that cellphone payments will be common with the new generation of professionals.” At present most other payments by Pocit are inter-personal or to purchase airtime, aside from selected magazines that use Pocit to aid consumers to buy from ads or recommended products.
Reynders says: “The magazine initiative allows readers to buy products directly from a print advert or review from the comfort of their living room using nothing but their cellphone and getting prompt delivery a few days later. It transforms the concept of ‘buy now’ to ‘buy immediately’ and not next time you are shopping.” By May a range of merchants will be encouraging cellphone users to pay for purchases by pressing a button on their cellphone and immediately transferring money. “The range for this,” Reynders said, “is vast and is already widely practised in other parts of the world, especially the huge consumer markets of south East Asia.” Reynders said that Pocit ran a campus cellphone payment system campaign in March and April, “which saw daily sign ups grow rapidly.” The campaign ends at the end of April with a draw among students who recruit large numbers of users for one of four vehicles and a range of other prizes.
Pocit encouraged students to register with Pocit www.pocit.mobi (or call 08600 76248). They earned R10 with each sign up and for every six people referred they earned R20 instead of R10. This amount rose further as they become brand ambassadors. A user has to sign up for the brand ambassador program on www.pocit.co.za by accepting the terms and conditions of the program and then only does the higher referral bonus become effective. Criteria for joining are a validated phone number and a validated credit card or bank account. They also qualify, between now and end April, to win one of four Ford Fiestas 1.4 Ambiente’s worth R140 000 each, 150 IPods and other prizes. Reynders said: “A cellphone payment system like Pocit is the safest and fastest way to pay someone or to receive money, unlike cash or the internet, cellphone payments are thief proof. Not a single cellphone payment system has been hacked into globally. Even if the phone is stolen, the payment remains locked in cyberspace until the person gets a new phone; they unlock the money with their pin.” Pocit also allows people to store money in their cellphones using Pocit Money even if they have no bank account. It is a little like a shopping voucher and all they need is for someone to transfer money to them, so that they can pay out when they need too. It means that when they go out they never need carry a handbag, wallet or credit card and if the phone gets stolen, the money doesn’t, it’s secure in cyberspace.
Fast Facts on cellphones and cellphone payments: Globally 700 million consumers will shop using their cellphones by 2013, according to research. More than 50 million people in Japan shop using their cellphones. China has 300m mobile users compared to South Africa’s 30 million – although SA’s figure represents three quarters of our population and China’s figure represents only a third of their population. The United Nations International Telecommunication Union says in Africa cellphone penetration has risen from one in 50 people in 2000 to a third of the population today. .
Contact information: David ReyndersMD, Pocit 083 327 1611 or 011 581 1217 www.pocit.co.za
Gerrie van ZylCEO Tradebridge 011 581 1211 or 083 326 5468
Issued by:Charlene Smith Communications 011 646 7637 or 021 762 2656mediaonline@global.co.za
