SMS in Business

They've Stolen your Bank Card - Nov 12 2004

Spanish bank Bankinter has launched an sms based service to inform people each time their bank card is used. As MarketingDirecto (in Spanish) explains this service has the objective to let people know on time if their card has been stolen or misused. [via Adverblog]

"A system warns the user via SMS of each banking operation made with the card. if ever the user notices that one of the retrievals was not made by him/her, s/he can cancel the card immediately.

To activate the service, the Bankinter client has to send an sms that says "P" to the 7128 number."

Job-Hunting via SMS - 5 Oct 2004

In Malaysia, Macro Kiosk and JobStreet.com are working together to issue text message alerts for JobStreet.com subscribers throughout the region, reports TheStar.

"Many jobseekers are usually on the go and with SMS alerts, they can now be alerted of a potential employer anytime, anywhere," said Kenny Goh, Macro Kiosk chief executive officer.

Jobseekers can receive alerts on being shortlisted for a job, requests for résumés by potential employers, scheduled interviews as well as new jobs."

Car Maintenance Alerts by SMS - 2 July 2004

Car owners might in the future be alerted by email or SMS when something is amiss with their vehicle and requires garage intervention, reports The Register.

"Research institutes from the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the UK and car manufacturers Volkswagen and BMW are to participate in a new European consortium MyCarEvent (short for the snappy MobilitY and CollAboRative work in European Vehicle Emergency NeTworks), which is going to explore the idea of car maintenance alerts by email or SMS".

Leading Travel Companies Use SMS - 1 July 2004

Leading travel companies are using SMS today to send everything from Web and call centre quotes and confirmations to alerts about travel delays. Itís helping them reduce costs and increase revenues, according to EyeforTravel.

"Todayís travel companies are keeping things simple to provide the most valued mobile services. Theyíre using SMS and other mobile technologies to not only deliver information cost effectively, but to deepen their brand and product awareness in an increasingly competitive, Internet-based travel market.

Lastminute.com, Thomas Cook, Avis, Thistle, TUI, NCP and OAG are among the most ambitious and creative companies taking an early lead in mobile through the use of SMS technology.

Their customers now actively save quote or booking information, share travel information, itineraries and pictures with friends and colleagues, receive rich alerts about delays or special offers, and keep travel plans easily accessible, all on their mobiles".

Recruitment Firms Like Discreet Texting - 21 June 2004

Auckland software firm Methods Personnel Recruitment Software is helping recruitment firms use SMS messages to communicate cheaply and discreetly with job hunters, reports New Zealand's online Stuff.

Text messaging is an ideal communications medium for clients who may not want their colleagues to know they are on the market and it's cheaper than a phone call.

St George Does SMS Banking - Mar 04 2004

ST George Bank customers (Australia) can monitor their accounts on their mobile phones, using an SMS facility, reports the Australian IT.

"The new service means that customers can now automatically be sent account information they have requested via SMS, including account balances, deposits and withdrawals as they occur," St George said.

The service works for any St George Freedom savings or credit card account.

Customers can access the service over internet. The service is free until May 31, and 25c per alert after that. "

Chinese Bank Launches SMS Banking - Jan 22 2004

China Everbright Bank has teamed with a leading Chinese ISP to launch a new SMS banking service, reports Mobile Commerce World. The SMS banking service is targeted at credit loan clients, who receive a SMS that shows their bank account balance and reminds them of loan repayment.

New Wireless Banking Service in U.S. - Jan 13 2004

Despite low adoption in U.S., local bank Premier America Credit Union recently launched a new text-messaging service the firm said is enjoying some success, according to this story. The SMS alert enables users to check their balances, past transactions and other information.

It launched a wireless alerts service in May, and it now counts 181 users. Although the number of wireless users is only a tiny portion of the banking firmís 70,000 total members, Premier America considers it a far greater success than its previous wireless banking effort.

In India, SMS Stock Tips Are Hot - Nov 27 2003

Brokers from small and large financial firms in India are updating their clients on the latest market fluctuations by SMS, suggesting investment options, including derivatives strategies, in real time. According to Vinod K Sharma, equity strategist at Anagram Stock Brocking, "Investors and day traders need to know what to do during the thick of the action in the case of a fresh corporate performance or other event. "SMS is the best solution as the client can attend to it as soon as he finds time," says another dealer. "It helps them take instant decisions. It is very effective and investors get in touch with the brokerage houses fast." ff

Business Slowly Starting to get the Text Message - Oct 28 2003

A survey conducted by the Mobile Data Association (MDA) this summer, aimed to find out to what extent UK businesses are using text messaging as a communication tool.

The survey found that the most active users of business text messaging seemed to be aged 35 or over and were found mostly in the financial, retail, and business service sectors. Additionally, it was found that texting was mainly being used internally between staff and colleagues.

The lowest level of business texting was found in the 'not for profit' sector, where respondents claim that texting is 'expensive' and they would not want to use their mobile phone for the purpose of business texting.

Overall, a general preference for telephone for verbal, and e-mail for written communication, still dominates the world of business.

Great Britain is an interesting market to study as they are one of the most prolific SMS countries in the world, with an average of 58 million SMS sent a day.

Mobile Data Association

160characters.org

SMS Services Bring in Business to Chinese Internet Portal - Sep 22 2003

The Wall Street Journal via Moco News has an insightful story on a remarkable comeback by a Chinese Internet Portal called Sohu.com, facing a dot-com collapse only months after the company's initial public offering, when it's advertising-based business model started falling apart.

How did this company turn their business around? By switching over much of their content, such as news flashes and sports updates, from the Internet to an SMS platform for mobile phones, and charging for it. Because the response was so (surprisingly) positive, the company's began expanding it's offerings, adding new ones like anonymous dating services or being able to link up with long-forgotten classmates by SMS. Sohu.com then marketed madly with a multi-city train tour on which six Shanghai models promoted a mobile dating game where the 6 winners in each city, were able take the models out for a night on the town.

According to the WSJ "For the third quarter of 2002, the company surprised investors by posting its first-ever profit, of $112,000. By the fourth quarter of 2002, SMS accounted for nearly half -- $5.1 million -- of the company's $10.6 million in revenue. In this year's second quarter, SMS-related revenue rose to $11.5 million. [WSJ] via [Moco News]

Text Messaging, Not Just for Teenagers - July 14 2003

Not just for teenagers, text messaging is now becoming an accepted medium for business communications, overtaking older, well-established technologies such as pagers. UK companies are starting to rely on SMS more than any other medium to communicate mission-critical and real-time information to employees, partners and customers, according to a survey conducted by Topcall and reported by ZDNet.

Sales Force Automation (SFA) with Mobile Phones - July 7 2003

This article in the Business Section of the The Star focuses on businesses adopting mobile solutions, and looks into one of the most popular business applications: sales force automation (SFA), especially useful for organisations with a sales force throughout the country, taking orders from small dealers that supply to small outlets and from retail shops.

"The sales personnel are able to access information about inventory, to check whether the product is available, and if available can close an order on the spot with the retailer, transact the order, and get an acknowledgement on the delivery date, by cell phone or PDA.

Previously, to complete the transaction, they would have to fill in a purchase order, send it via fax, make a call or go back to the office".

Mastercard Offers Consultancy Services for SMS - March 21 2003

Displaying an act of faith in the business potential and secure services conducted by SMS, according to an article in Newmediazero, credit card giant MasterCard is rolling out a "MasterCard SMS" programme across Europe, aimed at banks, retailers and companies developing co-branded cards. The company is promising to help evaluate and implement complete SMS campaigns with it's partners.

The card company has also issued a code of practice for banks wanting to use SMS, in what it claims is the first such code for the finance sector. This also includes built in fraud prevention measures in the system, allowing banks, to send SMS alerts to cardholders for large or suspicious transactions.

Credit Card Fraud Prevention

In a bid to reduce occurrences of credit card fraud, a bank has started sending SMS messages to credit card owners each time purchases above a certain value have been made on their card. This way the owner is always informed when their card is used, and how much money was taken for each transaction.