Obopay
Encyclopedia
Obopay is a company specialized in mobile payment systems and headquartered in Redwood City, California. It was founded in 2005 by Carol Realini, current CEO.
Obopay is a service that allows the transfer of money between mobile phones. Once a customer creates an Obopay account, they can add money from a credit card, debit card, or a bank transfer. From a technical point of view, Obopay service currently works in three ways: via SMS
, via Obopay mobile application (requires a smartphone
), or via Internet browser (WAP
).
Obopay India's partners include Yes Bank and UBI. The 'Mobile Money Service' has been launched in 6 cities in India, in co-operation with Nokia. This service works on binary messages and its primary intent is to target rural area users most of whom do not have a bank account. The service also provides option to withdraw cash from automated teller machine
s and will be launched across India by the end of 2011.
On March 2008, Obopay launched its services in India through a wholly owned subsidiary.
On March 2009, Nokia
announced that it would invest in Obopay, and later in August 2009 unveiled its service Nokia Money.
Obopay was selected as 2010 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum
.
Obopay is a service that allows the transfer of money between mobile phones. Once a customer creates an Obopay account, they can add money from a credit card, debit card, or a bank transfer. From a technical point of view, Obopay service currently works in three ways: via SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
, via Obopay mobile application (requires a smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
), or via Internet browser (WAP
Wireless Application Protocol
Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
).
History
The business idea came up when Realini was doing volunteer work in Africa, and she realized that many people had a mobile phone even though they did not own a wallet. She came back to USA and founded Obopay in 2005.Obopay India's partners include Yes Bank and UBI. The 'Mobile Money Service' has been launched in 6 cities in India, in co-operation with Nokia. This service works on binary messages and its primary intent is to target rural area users most of whom do not have a bank account. The service also provides option to withdraw cash from automated teller machine
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s and will be launched across India by the end of 2011.
On March 2008, Obopay launched its services in India through a wholly owned subsidiary.
On March 2009, Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
announced that it would invest in Obopay, and later in August 2009 unveiled its service Nokia Money.
Obopay was selected as 2010 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
.