Payments Watch

Aryty allows you to send prepaid credit to mobile phone accounts in the Philippines from the United States and Canada. This is a brilliant idea combining two mobile payment applications (mobile phone prepaid top-up and overseas remittance) into one.

In 2004, according to one source, workers in the United States sent $6 billion to the Philippines, a country with at least 33 million cell phone subscribers, many of whom with no formal financial services relationships. So this is a huge opportunity for remittance via mobile. Furthermore, prepaid is the predominant form of mobile phone subscription. Due to pricing structures, there is a high level of use, and comfort with, SMS technology. All this provides an interesting opportunity for this unique synergy between mobile remittance and mobile prepaid top-up.

Here’s how it seems to work: Someone in North America creates an account with Aryty (I assume using a credit card). When they wish to top-up someone’s prepaid mobile phone in the Philippines, they tell Aryty via the web or SMS which mobile phone they wish to top up (using the recipient’s phone number of course!) and how much credit they wish to send. Their credit card is charged, and the recipient enjoys using all that new airtime.

To make it all the more interetsing and “Web 2.0″, Aryty even integrates into several popular Social Networking sites like MySpace and Friendster. Social mobile payments - I am sure Netbanker and the BankWatch might find that interesting given their following of the tie in between banking and the social networking sites.

Makes you wonder what other synergies or cross applications might be possible in the mobile arena. How about merchant pay from prepaid accounts? Wouldn’t you know, this is also possible in the Philippines. Smart Communcations (representing approximately 60% of the Filipino mobile market) allows mobile payment to merchants and utilities from their prepaid accounts (also enabled by an optional account-linked debit card).

Interesting Side Story

I found out about Aryty in the most indirect of ways: I was reading Annalyn’s feed where I follow Filipino food (hey, what can I say, I love the lechon kawali - nothing really compares to deep fried fat!). Anyway she posted on a blogging convention which mentioned Aryty.