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TheMobileBuzz
Payza realized that the web platform is a foundation
from which to build the mobile app. "We started
thinking − should the mobile app be tied directly to the
website?" Nizzameddine said. "And what we realize
right now is that the shift to mobile is very aggressive.
It does not make sense just to tie your entire products
to the web. You need to have some sort of mobile-only
solution."
Payza is thus designing the mobile platform to stand
alone while also leveraging the web platform on the
back-end. "Obviously our platform is pretty big on the
web," Nizzameddine stated. "Why not use it as the back
end?"
He added that the person downloading the app doesn't
need to know a website exists, and the "mobile itself
could work independently. … So we're building the
app so that the user doesn't have to necessarily go to
payza.com or the website to use the app itself."
Local knowledge
Payza has been in business since 2002 and supports 21
currencies in the networks it operates. Payza has over
10 million users and more than 75,000 merchants in its
network.
Nizzameddine said that in developing markets, the
payment infrastructures of banks, ATMs and processing
networks have not been built out. Increasingly, mobile
devices have taken their place.
"Mostly in developing countries [consumers] skipped
the web and went directly to mobile," Nizzameddine
noted. "They use their mobile devices for pretty much
all of their day-to-day actions. So I do believe that
having a mobile strategy is really effective, especially
in developing markets."
Another lesson Payza learned is that international
programs do not work well without knowledge of
local customs and conditions, which underscores the
importance of payment providers having partnerships
with financial institutions in those markets.
Unlimited growth
"We do have a global reach, and we understand how
the markets work," Nizzameddine said. "But it's a lot
harder for us to do local offerings or local payments
where we're not physically there. And I think this is
the issue. If you're not really there, how you can tailor
something that the local market will use?"
With that said, developing markets have seemingly
unlimited growth potential for mobile payments.
"I think it's pretty much an untapped market,"
Nizzameddine said.
31
Payza realized that the web platform is a foundation
from which to build the mobile app. "We started
thinking − should the mobile app be tied directly to the
website?" Nizzameddine said. "And what we realize
right now is that the shift to mobile is very aggressive.
It does not make sense just to tie your entire products
to the web. You need to have some sort of mobile-only
solution."
Payza is thus designing the mobile platform to stand
alone while also leveraging the web platform on the
back-end. "Obviously our platform is pretty big on the
web," Nizzameddine stated. "Why not use it as the back
end?"
He added that the person downloading the app doesn't
need to know a website exists, and the "mobile itself
could work independently. … So we're building the
app so that the user doesn't have to necessarily go to
payza.com or the website to use the app itself."
Local knowledge
Payza has been in business since 2002 and supports 21
currencies in the networks it operates. Payza has over
10 million users and more than 75,000 merchants in its
network.
Nizzameddine said that in developing markets, the
payment infrastructures of banks, ATMs and processing
networks have not been built out. Increasingly, mobile
devices have taken their place.
"Mostly in developing countries [consumers] skipped
the web and went directly to mobile," Nizzameddine
noted. "They use their mobile devices for pretty much
all of their day-to-day actions. So I do believe that
having a mobile strategy is really effective, especially
in developing markets."
Another lesson Payza learned is that international
programs do not work well without knowledge of
local customs and conditions, which underscores the
importance of payment providers having partnerships
with financial institutions in those markets.
Unlimited growth
"We do have a global reach, and we understand how
the markets work," Nizzameddine said. "But it's a lot
harder for us to do local offerings or local payments
where we're not physically there. And I think this is
the issue. If you're not really there, how you can tailor
something that the local market will use?"
With that said, developing markets have seemingly
unlimited growth potential for mobile payments.
"I think it's pretty much an untapped market,"
Nizzameddine said.
31
