Page 215 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Technology, innovation and competition

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Technology, Innovation and Competition

India

In India, Yes Bank, India's fifth largest private sector bank, has also launched its own Thin SIM payments solution
for feature phones. Its Thin SIM installs a STK-based app linked to a prepaid wallet.
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Kenya
As noted above, Kenyan MVNO Equitel – the telecommunications arm of Equity Bank – uses its thin SIM
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to bypass market leading MNO Safaricom, using instead cheaper bearer services from Safaricom competitor
Airtel.
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14 Sound-based payment access

14.1 Overview

Acoustic-based access technology – also known as sound-based, or NSDT allows the microphone of any
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basic phone, feature phone, or smartphone to be used for data capture, while the standard MNO voice
channel acts as the data transporter. Transaction data is encrypted through the phone’s audio channel using
a ‘cryptosound.’
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In a merchant/agent environment, the merchant or agent enters the amount on the POS terminal device. The
customer then enters their phone number and PIN. On the terminal, the acoustic platform dials the customer’s
phone. The customer then answers the call and places the phone next to the terminal or agent’s handset. A
one-time encrypted password is exchanged via the cryptosound between the two devices and the transaction
is complete. Similarly, users can transfer funds to one another by both the sender and recipient calling a sound-
enabled server. The system may be especially suited for use by merchants in India, where there are more than
20 million merchants but only around one million POS machines.
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Using NSDT, DFS SPs are not reliant on an MNO for access, since no special MNO gateways are required.
However, there is limited mass-market discovery and penetration. Voice calls to link the POS, handset, and
server to complete a transaction may also be relatively costly.

14.2 Country Examples

The technology is used by Yes Bank (India), Pepele Mobile (DRC); Netcash (Zimbabwe); MoboMoney (India);
UltraCash (India); and Alipay (China).

229 ETCIO (2016) Yes Bank To Launch SIM Sleeve Payments Solution For Feature Phones, available at https:// goo. gl/ ybICxl
230 The transactions currently offered are P2P fund transfers, Person to Account (P2A) fund transfers using NEFT and IMPS, balance
checking, payments to merchant for small and large value purchases and payment of bills; top-ups, and recharges
231 http:// www. equitel. com
232 In the case of Equitel in Kenya, use of the shortcode *247# will divert the session to use the Airtel network. See Equitel (2016)
Get Activated, available at http:// www. equitel. com/ my- phone/ get- activated.
233 NSDT is the trade name for the acoustic access service offered by Tagpay. See www. tagpay. fr.
234 Zhang, B (2013) PriWhisper: Enabling Keyless Secure Acoustic Communication for Smartphones, available at https:// eprint. iacr.
org/ 2013/ 581. pdf
235 NFC World (2015) Ultracash Launches Sound-Based Mobile Payment Service In Bangalore, available at https:// goo. gl/ kKV7JU

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