#Carrier Billing

Pay by SMS via Selecta vending machines

07/05/2014

3 min

Since May 7, Bouygues Telecom and Orange have been testing a new SMS payment solution at Gare de Lyon, in Paris, on 104 Selecta vending machines offering drinks and food. This pilot project, planned for a duration of six months, could be progressively extended to the entire French territory.

Each vending machine is identified by a short first name, such as “Léa.” To make a purchase, the customer sends an SMS to the short number “92180” with the machine’s first name followed by the price of the desired product. The vending machine then displays the corresponding amount, and the customer has 45 seconds to enter the reference of the chosen product on the keypad.

This practical solution eliminates the need for cash and requires neither account creation nor bank details entry. The purchase is directly debited from the consumer’s mobile bill, under the heading “Services by SMS,” with a detailed description such as “Selecta_Gare de Lyon_92180_coca.” The customer can also find their purchase in the “Paid service via mobile” section of their customer area.

Compatible with all mobile devices, SMS payment constitutes an additional source of revenue for operators, who receive a percentage on each transaction. For its part, Selecta benefits from several advantages: reduced costs related to coin collection, decreased acts of vandalism on machines, and soon the implementation of an SMS refund service.

Already tested in Nordic countries, this system represents complementary revenue for Selecta compared to traditional payment methods. With a turnover estimated at 230 million euros in France (compared to 700 million euros in Europe) across its 28,000 points of sale, this innovation offers a significant opportunity.

This project could generate more than 1.5 million euros per year for Bouygues Telecom, in addition to other services already available such as Google Play, parking payment by SMS, or even SMS donations with the Red Cross.

This pilot marks an important step in the evolution of mobile payment solutions, while strengthening the attractiveness of Selecta vending machines to consumers.