Tie ups Update - Ibibo - Sony BMG / IDBI - Paymate

Tie ups continue in this space and Ibibo which we have been tracking closely has gone ahead with another entertainment tie up and Paymate which recently entered the nepal market has closed a tie up with IDBI bank. Lets look at the details of these tie ups.

Ibibo Ties Up with Sony BMG - Launches Michael Jackson Contest

As stated earlier as well Ibibo is working very aggressively on its entertainment/contest strategy and this tie up with Sony BMG, the music entertainment company is no different.
As per this tie up a group on Michael Jackson which will be used to promote michael jackson songs on ibibo and users can vote for their favourite song which would then be converted into a two-CD album called Michael Jackson – The King of Pop.

Ibibo seems to be having an edge over other social networks when it comes to entertainment as a category. Whether or not this strategy is a sustainable one in the long run is questionable. In other news Ibibo is also powering social network for mobile manufacturer spice mobiles and the same can be access via wap.spicegang.in.

IDBI ties up with Paymate

IDBI Bankannounced a tie up with with PayMate to enable Mobile Payments facility for its over 3.5 million customers.

With RBI issuing guidelines for mobile payments it heartening to see public sector banks come forward and forge alliances with mobile payment companies like Paymate.
Here’s how PayMate will work for an IDBI Customer:
An IDBI Bank customer can avail of free registration for PayMate’s Mobile Payment service at any IDBI Bank Branch (registrations will shortly be extended on ATMs and through NetBanking). Once registered, the process links the customer’s mobile number to his/her operative bank account and a secure Mobile Banking PIN (m-PIN) is sent to the customer. A customer can then start transacting as follows:

1.Once the customer chooses to pay via PayMate at the merchant, he/she only shares the registered mobile number with the merchant and instantly receives an IVR call from PayMate asking for a payment authorization with a 4 digit mPIN
2.Customer then punches in the mPIN which is authenticated by PayMate and the customer’s bank account is debited instantly.
3.A confirmation of the transaction status is sent to both the customer (via SMS) and the merchant (through the PayMate interface) within a few seconds.

As one can see the process isn’t that long but adoption would still be an issue as people in India are careful with using technology for transactions. With 300 million + mobile phone subscribers this mode of payments could revolutionize the way we transact in India.