An
application for Android from mPayy that lets consumers make payments from their mobile phone without signing into mPayy's Web site should be ready as early as next week, Conrad Sheehan, CEO and
founder at the online and mobile payment provider, told Online Media Daily. The application will allow consumers to transfer money to and from mPayy accounts, or make mobile purchases from any small
businesses participating in the program. Think PayPal: no credit card, and an easier way to move money via a mobile phone.
mPayy relies on the Automated Clearing House (ACH) to move money
from person to person, or through Facebook and MySpace. It gives people an option to make a purchase without using a Visa or MasterCard.
It also links with Magenta, the shopping cart, and pay
buttons for companies that lack sophisticated electronic commerce Web sites. "The information gets triple-encrypted," Sheehan says. "It's beyond the standards set up by Visa and MasterCard. It's
easier to build a great new system, rather than make an old system great."
Sheehan, of course, believes people have begun -- and will continue -- to make purchases more frequently with cash
through a mobile phone instead of paying for the merchandise with a credit card. It's not clear whether consumers will choose cash over credit, but he may be right on the money when it comes to mobile
payments.
More than 1.6 billion devices worldwide were used to access the Internet in 2009, including PCs, mobile phones, and online video game consoles. By 2013, the total number of devices
accessing the Internet will increase to more than 2.7 billion, according to research firm IDC.
Worldwide, more than 624 million Internet users will make online purchases in 2009, totaling nearly
$8 trillion -- both business and consumer -- according to research firm IDC. By 2013, people worldwide will make electronic commerce transactions tallying more than $16 trillion, the research firm
estimates.
In turn, brands will allocate more of the budget to Internet advertising. IDC estimates that Internet advertising makes up 10% of all ad spending today. And while this year it will
total nearly $61 billion, by 2013, IDC expects it to exceed $100 billion worldwide.
IDC estimates that more than 1.6 billion people -- a little more than a quarter of the world's population --
used the Internet in 2009. By 2013, more than 2.2 billion people -- about one-third of the world's population -- will be online.