Online and mobile payments company Upaid is to launch its own membership-based payment services.  Until now, Upaid has worked under the guise of better known brands, such as Visa and IBM, but is launching the new service under its own brand directly to small companies. Upaid says it will offer far better deal than is currently available to small companies through banks or mobile operators.
Upaid has nine years experience of providing on-demand payment solutions for the web and mobile channels. It says it has decided to offer its service directly to content providers because it is concerned that high fees and a lack of understanding by payment companies are constraining growth in new or niche markets by forcing lower margins for merchants and higher charges for consumers.
The service will launch in January and will be open to UK and European vendors. Upaids patented payment platform is highly secure, due to the methodology it uses for customer authentication and authorisation.
“New merchants, especially those in new or niche markets, who wish to extend their payment options to major credit and debit cards have difficulty finding a supportive bank says Upaid CEO, Simon Joyce. The result is that they have to pay a hefty premium for accepting card payments, or limit their potential market. The relationship we have with our bank partners allows us to provide a dependable and more receptive service, tailored to the needs of each content sector.”
Consumers who register through the merchants website will be able to pay in pounds sterling, euros, US dollars and Swiss francs. The service will work with Visa and MasterCard initially, with other cards added as demand grows.
Upaid will be discussing the new service during the Billing & M-Payments Panel Debate at World Telemedia in Budapest, which starts tomorrow and runs until 10 November. The M-Payments debate takes place at 12 noon on 9 November.