How can we help businesses grow beyond just payments? We’ve come up with an idea that we’d like to “beta test” with a very small number of customers. The programme we’re trying would basically send traffic to your web site and hopefully convert into paying customers – something that I’m sure every startup can need 
If you’re about to launch your product in the near future and you accept daopay, please e-mail a short description of what you’re doing to andreas at daopay dot com and I’ll get back to you within a couple of days.
A Fresh and Friendly Voice for German Customers
July 1, 2009 by Andreas Pizsa
With the increasing number of calls we’re processing globally, we want to make sure that everyone who calls us remembers having a positive, friendly experience when paying with us. This month we’ve asked Anja, a female speaker from Germany, to record new announcements for our German callers - and we’re more than pleased with the results. But just hear it yourself – it’s a pleasure to listen to Anja, even if you don’t speak German
Meet daopay at GamesCom Cologne and Games Convention Leipzig 2009
July 1, 2009 by Andreas PizsaWe’re preparing our attendance at two upcoming Game shows in Germany: Games Convention in Leipzig and GamesCom in Cologne – and we’d love to meet with you! We’ve set aside a quiet room where we can have a cup of coffee or cool drink and share our experiences with online payments and how businesses like yours can grow and become even more successful.
Interested? Schedule a meeting with us and save the dates
Games Convention Leipzig
July 31st – August 2nd, 2009
http://www.gamesconvention.com
GamesCom Cologne
August 19th – 23rd, 2009
http://www.gamescom.de
4 simple & effective security tips for mobile payments
June 25, 2009 by Andreas PizsaPhone payments are really taking off, and as they’re becoming more popular and more widely accepted, it’s also more tempting for fraudsters to try to trick you.
We monitor fraud attemps very closely to make phone payments a safe and reliable option for both consumers and merchants, and here are a few tips what you can do to protect yourself from unwanted surprises. These tips are very easy to implement and, in most cases, won’t even require you to change your habits 
These tips apply if you use a payment method that doesn’t require a credit card or bank account, such as daopay, where purchases get charged to your phone bill.
1. Activate your PIN code
This one is pretty obvious and yet so effective. Your phone a mobile ATM, and so you should protect your ATM with a PIN. See your phone’s manual how it’s done. If you can’t find your manual, try googling it, e.g. google “sony ericsson w595 manual pdf”.
(Got an an iPhone? Follow this link to see how it’s done.)
2. Use a pre-paid or pay-as-you-go plan.
Virtually all mobile operators offer pre-paid plans. Think of these as debit cards for mobile payments. It’s a great option for children to learn how to use their phone responsibly without restricting their freedom to choose.
3. Ask you operator for a monthly spending limit.
Some operators allow to specify spending limits; this way you enjoy the advantages of monthly billing, with the benefits of responsible and controlled spending.
4. Monitor phone charges
Most operators offer online tools which let you control your phone charges in real time. Some are even able to send you an SMS once your spendings reached a certain point.
Got a tip you want to share with us? Please post them in the comments!
7 Mobile and Micropayment Myths Debunked
June 19, 2009 by Andreas Pizsa
Myth #1: Micropayments don’t work
Fact #1: People worldwide earn a decent living with micropayments. (iTunes AppStore… hello?!)
There may be different opinions on whether micropayments work or not, but the facts speak a clear language: creative individuals as well as large companies are earning decent incomes with micropayments.
- Jeff Smith has made a cool million in 2008 with $1 and $2 apps that he sells on Apple’s AppStore.
- Stever Demeter pulled in $250,000 in just two months with a $3 iPhone game.
- facebook is making an estimated 15-30 million Dollars a year with $1 gifts that they sell on their platform.
- And last but not least, daopay’s customers are processing millions of transactions every year in the range between $1 and $10, with conversion rates of up to 76%.
Myth #2. Mobile Payments involve high fees and are too expensive
Fact #2: Mobile Payments compare very well to other payment options
Credit Card companies take about $0.35 per transaction, plus a 3% fee. But don’t let the “3%” irritate you: if you sell a product for $1, that’s a whopping 38% for fees. Which means you get to keep significantly less than with the AppStore or daopay (see #1)
Myth #3: Mobile Payments users need a credit card
Fact #3: Mobile Payments work without credit cards
Paying online usually involves credit cards or bank accounts. But credit cards aren’t equally popular everywhere. Many people also don’t feel comfortable sharing their perosnal information over the net. And then there’s people who simply don’t have a credit card.
Mobile phone payments, on the other hand, only require a simple telephone if done right.
Myth #4: Mobile Payments work only with Mobile Phones
Fact #4: Phone Payments also work with landline phones
Mobile payments, micropayments, phone payments… quite confusing! Most mobile payment operators really mean “mobile phone” when they say “mobile phone”. In addition to that, daopay works with landline AND mobile phones. Just dial a number, hold the line, and you’re all set.
Myth #5: It’s Mobile Payment versus Credit Cards
Fact #5: Mobile Payments are a complementary payment option.
If you sell fruits, some customers will want apples and some will want oranges. Maybe you’ll sell more apples than oranges, but at the end of the day, you’ll be able to serve more customers if you offer a broad range of choices. It’s the same with payment methods. You can simply serve more customers if you give them more choices.
Myth #6: Only a few freaks use their phone to pay online
Fact #6: Phone Payments reach 40x as many users as Apple’s AppStore
Let’s just compare the numbers:
| Visa cards | 1 500 000 000 |
| AppStore users | 75 000 000 |
| Phones | 4 000 000 000 |
And since everyone can use phone payments without signing up for an account first (not to mention going through the credit card approval process…), you really are able to collect money from anyone, anywhere.
Myth #7: Mobile payments are just for large companies
Fact #7: Mobile Payments are very easy to integrate for everyone.
If you have a friend or collegue who knows how to work with HTML and e-Mail, you got all you need. It’s easy to get started, and it’s easy and inexpensive to find someone to help you do more tighter integration. Anyone who has ever integrated PayPal can intergate daopay.
FAQ: Where’s my money?
May 12, 2009 by Andreas PizsaAs you might probably know, our standard payout terms are End-Of-Month + 60 days, in some countries it’s even +90 days, which, without doubt, is a pretty long time if you’re eager to receive your hard-earned money. I know from some support e-mails and personal discussions that to some folks, it appears as if we’re keeping our merchants’ money idling on our bank accounts to make a buck from the interest. Nothing is further from the truth, and I’d like to shed a little light on this issue:
We would love to pay merchants at the end of each month without any additional delays and we are always working on ways to reduce payout delays as much as possible. There are a couple of obstacles though that we need to resolve, and while some issues are easier to solve than others, a few are just unchangeable facts of life, two of them being fraud and defaults.
Without getting into too many of the messy details: in almost all countries, governments try to reduce the risk of fraud with Consumer Protection Laws. These laws usually allow consumers to reverse or object transactions within a period of 40 or more days. During this period, a consumer can demand his or her money back, which means that even though the recipient might have received money on their bank account, they can’t be sure that they can actually keep it. In other words, phone carriers can not release funds to us until this period has passed and all funds are safe. This is the same reason why credit card companies usually pay merchants after 60 days.
Summary
- Consumer Protection Laws allow 40 days or more for chargebacks
- Carriers pay us after they have received payments and the Consumer Protection period has passed
- Once we’ve received the funds from carriers, we pay merchants as soon as possible
- daopay pays out almost as quickly as most leading credit card processors
Zero-Chargebacks Guarantee
The positive side of all of this is that we are able to employ a zero-chargeback guarantee in most countries. You don’t have to handle any of the administrative and financial hassles of chargebacks yourself – it’s been taken care of for you.
I hope this helps clarify things a little. The telecom business is utterly complex – just remember how difficult it is to choose a phone plan. We try to do our best to shield merchants and developers from all this complexity in 200 countries and hundreds of providers. Of course, we’re always open for suggestions. If you have feedback or ideas how we can effectively reduce payout delays, please get in touch with us – we’d like to hear from you and welcome your comments
