Mobill Service Platform (MSP)
Mobill’s services are built upon the Mobill Service Platform. MSP is a modular solution offering blocks of functionality which may be flexibly combined as needed to create applications.
- User Interface - SMS, mobile apps, mobile web, desktop web
- Billing - Mobile carrier, credit card, credit check & invoice
- Payment APIs - for vending machines, checkout point of sale equipment etc.
- Validation - via scannable electronic coupons and mobile phone browser
- Retailer Interface - for statistics, payment, refunds and customer communication
- Business Logic - Java applications such as M-Ticket, M-Parking and custom solutions
- Data Store - high performance database including the Mcode store for coupon validation
User Interface
MSP provides three levels of user interface so that mobile payment is available to all and offers a richer user experience according to the capabilities of the mobile phone, tablet or computer:
- SMS - universal access with the simple and familiar user experience of text messaging
- Web - mobile and desktop browser-based transactions
- Mobile app - interface an existing app or build a new custom app using SMS or WebAPI
SMS and the Comms Gateway
The Carrier Comms Gateway provides a high performance link to carrier SMSCs (SMS Centres) for sending and receiving text messages. The Gateway connects to multiple carriers simultaneously using SMPP (Short Message Peer to peer Protocol), and can also operate via an aggregator service for rapid deployment of services across the world.
Mobile Web and PC/Desktop User Interface
MSP includes a webserver to support mobile and desktop browser-based applications. MSP is able to host an entire application or provide the payment and validation parts of an existing application hosted elsewhere.
Mobile Applications
Developers can easily add payment transactions to their apps using MSP. They can choose SMS or an Internet webAPI interface using https security. SMS is a useful technique since the mobile phone is automatically identified so that customer pre-registration and log-in can be avoided.
Billing
Carrier Billing Gateway
Cellular carriers typically provide billing capability via Web APIs over an https session on the Internet. Billing APIs are often carrier-specific, and Mobill has coded the Gateway to work with a variety of APIs and also aggregator service.
The Billing Gateway manages mobile carrier rules regarding minimum and maximum billing amounts per transaction, day and month. Typical limits in are $20 per transaction and $200 maximum per month. MSP can also process refunds.
Credit Card Billing
The Credit Card Gateway links to a merchant for processing of payments from credit cards.
Credit Check & Invoice Billing
The Credit Check Gateway links to a credit check provider who gives a stop/go response based on the mobile phone number and customer ID. MSP does not perform any real-time debit, but instead raises an invoice to the customer who then pays the retailer directly.
Payment APIs
MSP includes a set of APIs that are optimized for real time purchases:
- Vending Machine - Customer sends credit to a vending machine to pay for a purchase. The credit appears on the machine a few seconds after texting and the required item can be selected and dispensed.
- Website - Customer pays for a downloadable item. The website can check that the payment is OK and allow the download to commence.
- Point of sale (POS) terminal - Customer pays via mobile phone. MSP communicates with the POS system to confirm payment. Alternatively, MSP can send the customer an electronic coupon that the retailer can scan, or a code for validation via a browser interface.
Ticket and Coupon Validation
MSP connects to mobile and fixed scanner devices over the Internet using Mobill Communication Protocol (MCP), so that retailers can validate Mcode-based tickets and coupons.
Retailer Interface
Retailers can manage customer data, create campaigns, send out coupons and get real time validation data back as coupons are redeemed.
Business Logic
Business Logic is the transaction processing core of the system. For a new transaction, it starts a new instance of the appropriate application; for an ongoing transaction, the message is handed to the appropriate session. Applications are written in Java and use the system components as needed to perform a transaction and deal with error conditions.
Data Store
MSP’s Data Store is based on Microsoft SQL Server®. MSP collects operational data from the communication and billing events that take place in applications. The Mcode Store holds the details of the electronic coupons issued by MSP.