Mobile Payment: when will it catch on in Brazil?

The purchase and sale of products and services are increasingly being carried out through electronic processes. Payments with cash are already giving way to transactions with credit and debit cards, via the internet, mobile banking, among others. And one more payment option starts to gain strength: the mobile payment, in which the user no longer needs to carry cash or cards and the cell phone takes over their role.

The number of cell phone users grows every year. According to a study by Anatel, until January 2012, Brazil already had 245,2 million active cell phones. Some time ago these devices surpassed the function of just making calls and sending messages, and the new functionalities make it easier for users to adapt to the mobile payment. But the question is: will the option of making payments via mobile offer the necessary security and will it catch on here?

O Federal government, through a bill that should be sent to Congress later this year, is studying how to regulate the mobile payment system in Brazil. The initiative's priority is to make the mobile payment accessible to common cell phones using the phone number to make low-value payments and confirming operations via SMS, since smartphones in practice have access to internet banking services.

The government's objective is not to allow telephone operators to carry out credit operations, but to offer more options to the user, especially in regions where access to banks is more difficult. The idea is good and makes it possible to democratize the mobile payment. But, if the project is approved, these SMS transactions must still undergo studies, as the level of security in sending confidential data such as bank passwords and account data through text messages is still quite risky.

Another option, which is safer, is payment by proximity: the establishment has a device, a kind of reader, in which the user must have a cell phone with a chip and antenna to store their account data and carry out the communication. with that device. who accompanies the showmetech, knows that some manufacturers have already launched devices with this technology, such as the new Galaxy X (Galaxy Nexus) da Samsung e Google. Chamada Near Field Communication (NFC), in free translation, something like communication in the near field, the technology has not yet taken hold here, but we hope that news will appear throughout the year.

The difference between these two forms of payment is convenience. With remote payment, the consumer does not need to be exactly where the transaction is taking place. However, the security level is relatively higher than sending text messages.

O mobile payment aims to change the traditional profile of bank customers in Brazil, and the current scenario is one of expectation. It remains to be seen whether the country will be prepared to adhere to this new payment model, as it is a strategy that involves risks and security barriers that must be improved, as well as tax barriers that we cannot forget to mention in this article.

It is a new process, which needs to be well structured to work, with a solid base of operations, where banks, operators and credit card companies must come together to build a negotiation format as well designed as credit card payments. and debt. It is still a moment of uncertainty and we must wait for the news, but it will certainly soon be part of our daily lives.

By João Moretti, General Director of MobilePeople.