
There were some great questions posed by content providers wanting to understand the US mobile opportunity at the Bango webinar last week and we thought it would be great to share these with everyone.
Questions -
The US Opportunity webinar, 21 April (Watch a recording
here)
Q: Does AT&T allow payment via credit card through Bango?
A: For any service where operator billing is activated, you cannot offer alternative billing methods. Where operator billing is not supported, you can. For example, audience restricted content, or where a customer is unable to make the payment on their phone bill.
Q: Does WAP payment avoid the carrier rev-share in the North American market?
A: When using operator billing, the operators participate by taking a revenue share. However the improvements in conversion rates, improved user experience and reduction of customer refunds obtained using WAP billing increases your success rate which in turn will increase your overall revenue.
Q: Would we require a dedicated Shortcode to enable us to use WAP billing in the US?
A: Billing is done without Premium SMS so you don’t require a dedicated shortcode for the Bango solution. Bango provides the shortcodes required for subscription renewal messages, or you can use your existing shortcodes if you prefer.
Q: I understand Credit card is a way around the adult restrictions, what percentage of credit card payments do you take compared to WAP billing? And what are the conversion rates like?
A: Credit card conversion rates vary depending on the country and type of content sold. Overall about 14% of transactions worldwide are by credit card. On a good service from a trusted brand we see a 10% - 20% conversion rate. Conversely on WAP billing a similar trusted brand will see a 30% - 70% conversion rate.
With regards to adult restrictions, you should as a minimum post an age restriction advisory notice and request user confirmation of age prior to presenting any audience restricted content when billing through a card.
Q: Can a content provider bill a consumer from one Mobile Originated (MO) message? Or does the content provider have to provide a confirmation (MT)?
A: The Bango service is via a mobile payment confirmation page in a WAP session rather than the old P-SMS model. As a result there is are no questions around billing on MO/MT messages, billing is all done through the mobile web (WAP) flow on screen.
Q: Is a mobile site necessary, or can your system be integrated in a proprietary J2ME app? Also Blackberry, iPhone, or Windows Mobile versions.
A: Yes a mobile site is necessary. For payment purposes the user does need to be directed to a mobile payment page for verification and transaction. From the application you will have to open a WAP session and connect to the Bango system.
Q: Does WAP billing work over WiFi, or only when they are using the carrier’s network?
A: Yes. If the user is not identified via the operator gateway as will happen when connecting via WiFi, the user can always pay by credit card or PayPal.
Q: Can I get access to your carrier coverage for other countries?
A: The mobile payment solution is available worldwide. For the full list of our billing coverage please visit
http://bango.com/products/payment/payment_network.aspx
Q: Is it possible to process donations through your system (where there is no actual download)?
A: Yes this is possible. The user is redirected back to any page you wish. Therefore the user can make a donation and then be presented with a thank you for your donation page. The US carriers support mobile charity payments through Mobile Giving Foundation
http://www.mobilegiving.org/FAQ.aspx
Q: I didn’t understand why Verizon is not supported, being the major US carrier it looks like a serious issue, can you explain?
A: The Verizon network currently doesn’t support binary downloads and delivery of content is via MMS. On most Verizon handsets you cannot simply click to download. They also do not have WAP billing system. However, we do have many customers successfully selling content on Verizon using credit card payments.
Q: What are the fees apart from the $499/month?
A: To run a mobile content service, there are no other fixed fees other than your monthly package fee. For every transaction processed, Bango charges a small fee (a few per cent of the price paid). You can of course upgrade your service level or add
Analytics capability which will incur an extra charge depending on your usage.
Q: Can we find out how many users(%) use smartphones, blackberries etc. in each operator?
A: We provide information via our
Analytics service on the device information you see for your service. Log onto the Management tools and view the Analytics tab to see this information in precise detail for all device types.
Q: What changes do you foresee for WAP billing due to carriers’ focus on compliance?
A: Carriers are very supportive of WAP billing, which is measurably better than P-SMS billing for performance, consumer experience, refund issues and auditability. We work closely with the carriers and the MMA to make sure that there is a consistent approach to providing services via operator billing using the WAP model.
Q: On Alternative Payment, will the recurring experience be across all content providers or just for that one CP?
A: If a user pays by credit card with one CP, the details will be securely stored by our processor and this will enable one-click payment for all subsequent transactions with any CP if the user or service is not enabled for WAP billing via the operator.
Q: What is Bango doing to improve current market conditions, for example (some) carriers’ requirement to send confirmation MT after WAP billing?
A: We are on the MMA board and work closely with the carriers to feedback requirements from our customers to provide the best experience as possible. We are also working with our carrier partners to standardize the payment experience across networks as far as possible. Today there is little variation in the WAP standard (compared to PSMS) so it is comparatively easy to build and launch services.
Q: Does Bango support subscription based billing?
A: Yes, both subscriptions and pay per event models are supported. We have a very sophisticated subscription management system from which you can obtain detailed information about the status of your customers.
Q: In the credit card scenario, if we need to return a membership and passcode how do we return that to the device; presumably after risk tools have been applied?
A: After payment the Bango service redirects the user to a page managed by you. You can return any information you require on this page.
Q: We currently use OpenBit for online billing, but they only support Symbian platform and there is no US coverage. Is the Bango platform independent?
A: Yes, Bango processes payments on all types of mobile devices.
Q: What is your revenue share in a campaign, what part you got and the operators and how much would be my part?
A: Bango pays great rates on all billing methods. We retain a very small percentage from the transaction. Full details on the payout rates can be found here
http://bango.com/products/payment/payment_network.aspx
Q: What is the best way for doing mobile advertising, I have a service of horoscope . I’m just finishing the page, and the service is up and running, what you recommend?
A: SEO and buying mobile advertising. See the list at:
http://bango.com/partners/mobile-advertising/
Q: The payout rates you offer for carrier billing are very different across geographies (eg US vs EU) - what are the main reasons for that?
A: The difference is due to the revenue share that the operator charges. Some operators take a larger percentage than others. We pass as much revenue to you, but because of this the percentages will vary from operator to operator. The amount Bango retains for processing transactions is consistent across all billing methods, irrespective of the operator revenue share.
Q: Where do phones like the Samsung Sync and LG Fuze fall into the phone categories, i.e. Feature or Smartphone
A: We would classify these as Smartphones