A number of Internet content providers are planning to trial a new
micropayment service from BT which allows consumers to buy online
content and services on a "pay-as-you-go" basis via a single
relationship with BT, says Daniel Thomas
The service, which is based on technology from German payment
systems provider Firstgate Internet, will allow content providers
to make new paid-for online services available to a wider consumer
audience, according to Angus Porter, managing director of BT
Retail's consumer division.
"Consumers want to be able to access good-quality content via the
Internet and businesses need to be able to charge for that
content," he said. "This service, which has been hugely successful
in Germany, will enable content providers to operate cost-effective
charging structures for premium content in a way that does not
penalise them or their customers if they are making relatively
low-value purchases."
BT Retail is currently in discussions with a number of content
providers interested in signing up to the service, which is due to
be launched in September 2002. These include sports news site
Sportinglife.com, women's lifestyle site Handbag.com and music
retailer Dotmusic.
Ben Warn, commercial director at Sportinglife.com, which is
planning to begin trials of the service in July, said accepting
micropayments - which are typically between 50p and £5 - could help
the company open up a raft of new revenue streams.
"We have not got any chargeable content at the moment but the
service will allow us to offer our users premium content, such as
Premiership video clips or more detailed race previews," he said.
"It is key that we open up new revenue streams and we will also be
looking at paid-for games, for example."
How will it work?
The consumer will set up a
free-of-charge account with the BT micropayments service, providing
either their bank account or credit card details. They will then be
given a user name and password, which they will be asked for each
time they click on the BT micropayment symbol to pay for content on
a Web site.
The micropayment billing system will handle the transaction
processes and the payment will appear on the customer's online
micropayment account statement.
This amount will then be debited from their bank or credit card
account on a monthly basis. BT customers will eventually be able to
charge their purchases to their monthly BT phone bill.
BT will collect payments from end-users on behalf of content
providers, manage the billing and deal with consumer queries.