Mobile Money

I recently encounter a service called Mobile Money. It's a very creative idea that provide alternative to Visa & Master Credit Card platform. As most of us know, we are the first country to implement smart card into our Credit Card and National Identify Card. For Mobile Money, it provide a combine implementation of e-wallet and mobile phone.

Mobile Money is a credit or debit account just like Visa & Master Card. However, instead of issuing you a credit card, it link the account to your mobile phone number. To charge your card, you provide your 16 digits account number to the merchant, and the merchant will charge your card in the system. For verification purpose, the system will send you a sms, and you are required to key in your 4 digits pin number and send an sms back to the system to complete the transaction. Therefore, it just act like a credit or debit card in your mobile phone.

What about the security issue? That's my first question towards this new concept. After studying the implementation, I found out that, it is basically safer than conventional Visa & Master Card.

1. The sim card is never handed over to a stranger to charge the card, therefore it is impossible to duplicate the card like it used to be.

2. If the phone is stolen, just like the Visa & Master Card, we have to report it immediately to to our bank to suspend any further transaction. Plus, with Mobile Money the guy is unable to charge the card even he has your phone unless he knows your pin number.

3. If your pin is stolen, the guy is unable to charge your card unless he got your phone and account number. Even if he is able to duplicate your sim card, the mobile service operator will void the service if it detected two identical sim card in the network.

4. If someone successfully hack into the sms center system to divert the traffic. If this happen, the mobile service operator will be in deep trouble, and you won't be liable for the any amount charged.

Then, it comes the questions "Why do we want to use Mobile Money when we already have Visa & Master?" Perhaps, it offers further security and better options. For the start, it may provide more incentive like cash back or more points/prizes for end user like us. For merchant, it may provide cheaper fee structure plus additional service to customer. For Bank, perhaps cheaper franchise fee, and hence better operationg profit.

However, Mobile Money is yet to be launced, and if the solutions is implemented successfully and bring to world, we'll be very proud to be Malaysian as this Malaysia concept as fas as i know.