Solution

To top-up their account or purchase a virtual good or a service from a merchant, a customer needs to utilize the SMS option. This is the method that a merchant can offer to their customers.

SMS

The SMS option requires the customer to send a number of text messages (depending on the amount) to a given list of phone numbers, each SMS representing a micropayment. The merchant is notified by the payment platform for each SMS that is received, so the merchant can top-up the customer’s account. Multiple SMS are sent simultaneously to the list of phone numbers with a single click to avoid the need for multiple transactions for larger payments.

Partial payments and customer credit

The payments are irreversible. If a customer wants to buy a service or virtual good which requires sending multiple SMS and, for any reason - such as a lack of phone credit -, some SMS are not sent, relario PAY will inform the merchant that only some of the SMS were received so the merchant can notify the customer. The recommended solution is that the merchant implements a wallet system for its customers and does a top-up on the customer’s account every time relario PAY confirms a transaction.