A micropayment is the payment of a small amount of money. Micropayments belong to payment systems on the internet. Micropayments are used for small transactions such as information, access to a website or service, or for the verification of a person.
For different reasons, other payment systems may not be practical. Reasons for using micropayments may be the desire for anonymity, excessive cost of other systems relative to the amount to be settled, or the user is unable to use another method of payment.
There are three main categories in micropayments;
Payment costs for payment systems such as iDEAL or credit cards are often too high for the payment of very small amounts. With a transfer of € 1, the final receiver loses a large part of the proceeds from the payment.
Micropayments are commonly used for content on the web. Mostly, micropayments are connected to a prepaid payment system where the user purchases physical or digital credit.
In 2009, PingPing emerged in Belgium. This mobile-for micro payment system allows a user to add his / her payment account by transferring funds through his account, or by linking the account directly to the mobile subscription. With PingPing, you can make payments via SMS as well as the tag stuck on the mobile phone. One only needs to move the tag over the special card reader in the store and the payment is done without having to enter a code. For example, PingPing is used for payments of parking, candy and vending machines, in restaurants and in shops.
Over the years, many different systems have been launched without lasting success. Currently, one of the most widely used forms of payment via the Internet is still texting. Also, PayPal is very popular in international terms.
Legislation, especially by regulators like The Dutch Bank, makes online payment not easy.
In recent years, several systems have been unsuccessfully introduced. A historical overview;
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