Mobile payment through Alfa

Credit card not needed

Local mobile operator, Alfa has launched on September 2, Alfapay, a mobile payment service that requires no credit card. According to Marwan Hayek, Chairman of Alfa, the new payment technique is both safe and easy and matches the growing trend of e-purchases.

Customers may now pay for their online purchases using their Alfa SIM card. The service is available for more than 40 designated websites and paid mobile apps, including songs, movies, e-books, games, among others. Generally, fees for this service amount to a few dollars. At a later stage, the service will be usable for several other, non-digital, products. “Paying bills could be a phase that we aboard later on.”

Alfapay is available on WiFi or on 3G+. If using WiFi, customers must select ‘operator billing’ as a payment method, then enter their mobile numbers in the corresponding field on the website. A four-digit PIN would then be sent by SMS to the consumer’s mobile to be entered on the website, in order to proceed with the purchase.

Through 3G+, the customer would also need to select ‘operator billing’ as a payment method, then accept the payment to proceed (no SMS is sent).

Payment is added to postpaid users mobile bill, or deducted from prepaid users’ balance.