Alternative Payment Methods word index

Concepts to understand DCB, Mobile Money and other Alternative Payment Methods

Alternative Payment Methods

Alternative payment methods are a way of paying for goods or services without using cash or major card schemes. This includes Direct Carrier Billing, Mobile Money Services and eWallets, among others. These payment methods are known for being fast, secure and simple, allowing a higer conversion rate than, for example, credit cards. 

API

Short for Application Programming Interface. An API is a software that connects two applications. When at Digital Virgo we say that Merchants can connect to Carriers and eWallet providers via one single API we are referring to the capacity to plug into our DV PASS platform and connect directly to Telcos and Mobile Money services worldwide, without the need of generating specific connections to each player. 

ARPU

Acronym for Average Revenue Per User. The ARPU is one of the key business KPIs, a system to calculate the average spend of a user on a service in a determined period of time (month, year etc.). One of our main goals is to increase the ARPU of our partners by, for example, reducing and maintaining the ratio of attempted fraud in Direct Carrier Billing through the three levels of DCB Shield (Digital Virgo anti-fraud solution).

Cash in

The process by which a customer credits his account with cash. This is usually via an agent who takes the cash and credits the customer’s mobile money account. 

Cash out

The process by which a customer deducts cash from his mobile money account. This is usually via an agent who gives the customer cash in exchange for a transfer from the customer’s mobile money account.  

Conversion rate

When talking about Digital Marketing, the conversion rate measures how many users turn into subscriptors or buyers of a product or service after seeing an ad campaign or starting a payment flow. The higher the percentage of conversion rate, the more successful your content or customer journey has been. One of the key benefits of Alternative Payment Methods, as opposed to credit cards, is the higher conversion rate related to the customer journey.

Cross-border payments

Cross-border payments are transactions that involve individuals, companies, banks… in two different countries or jurisdictions. Payment methods such as eWallets are key to simplify these transactions and give Merchants the opportunity to expand internationally, through platforms such as DV PASS, without having to invest in being physically present in another country.

Customer satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction measures how happy or satisfied a customer is whith a product or service. When talking about DCB or eWallets, customer satisfaction is achieved by offering customers transparency, security through the whole journey, customer care and high quality products. Ensuring a satisfied customer allows to guarantee the sustainability of the Alternative Payment Methods business, while a dissatisfied customer means business losses and, more importantly, reputational damage that is difficult to reverse.

DCB

Short for Direct Carrier Billing. DCB is an online mobile payment method which allows customers to purchase goods and services by charging payments to their telecom operator carrier bill.

eMoney

Short for electronic money. It is stored value held in the accounts of users, agents, and the provider of the mobile money service.

eWallet

eWallets are digital money accounts that are primarily accessed using a mobile phone. This can be a Telco Wallet or a wallet from another provider. This wallets enable users to pay or transfer their electronic money without needing a bank account.

Financial inclusion

Financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance. Mobile Money helps regions with low bankarization to achieve this goal.

Glocal

The term refers to an interconnection of Global and Local values in building a successful global company vision and identity. This term is widely used in Digital Virgo’s vocabulary as it accurately represents its diverse role in international perspective. By opening new offices in different countries our aim is to be closer to our clients’ needs. Our Teams adjust Digital Virgo’s Global experience in Local perspective.   

 

Merchant Payment

A payment made from a mobile wallet via a mobile money platform to a retail merchant in exchange for goods or services. It can be both, digital and physical goods.

Micropayments

A micropayment is a small transaction, usually made online, to pay for goods or services. In the digital environment, micropayments are normally related to downloading products or subscribing to services, for a example a mobile game download or a monthly subscription to a VOD platform.

Mobile Money

A service in which the mobile phone is used to access financial services. 

Mobile Money transfer 

A movement of value that is made from a mobile wallet, accrues to a mobile wallet, and/or is initiated using a mobile phone. 

Mobile Payment

A transaction made from a mobile wallet or thorugh the Telecom Operator bill to pay for goods or services, especially digital services, either at the point of sale or remotely.

P2B

Peer-to-Business. A transfer made from one person to a business. These transfers have been gaining weight in the Mobile Money ecosystem recently and are forescasted to grow strongly in the coming years. 

P2P

Peer-to-Peer. A transfer made from one person to another person. These kind of transactions have been one of the main uses of Mobile Money in the last decade.

Payment Hub

A payment hub is a platform through which payments are transacted. It can allow different payment methods. in the case of DV PASS, Digital Virgo’s payment hub, Merchants are connected to Carriers and Mobile Money providers to enable secure and fast payments made with Direct Carrier Billing, eWallets, Mobile Money services or Local Debit cards.

ROI

Acronym for Return On Investment. It is a measurement tool that business use to calculate how successful has an investment been to achieve a specific goal. In user acquisition through ad campaigns, the ROI is the number of news users made through the investment in the campaign.

User acquisition

User acquisition is the process of obtaining new users or subscribers for an app, platform or other services, such as VOD or music streaming services. This acquisition is usually obtained through digital marketing and advertising campagins to generate interest in potential clients that finally become customers. Digital Virgo believes in the strength of applying this marketing tecnique to make Merchants grow their revenue and expand their business, conducting over 35.000 campaigns and 110€ million of media buying every year