South Africans can now use their cellphones to donate money to political parties at a lower cost of a premium SMS.<\/p>\n
“The system is simple,” says Pocit’s chief operating officer Oliver Krantz. “All people have to do is SMS the name of their party and the amount they want to donate to 39621, we then send them a confirmation SMS with a link to a small program they can download. Once it’s installed, they register; add their bank details and we transfer the money to their party. “<\/p>\n
Using the mobile Internet rather than a premium SMS enables Pocit to keep the costs very low, adds Krantz: “The fee is only 5% of the donation, as opposed to 50% with a premium rate SMS.”<\/p>\n
Donors are rewarded with a link to a WAP site offering downloads of party logos, ringtones and other media. <\/p>\n
“The Obama campaign is famous for the remarkably effective way it used the Internet to raise millions of small donations from ordinary people,” says Russel Stromin of technology provider Strike Media. <\/p>\n
“In South Africa the cellphone is the only way for the vast majority of people to get online, and we are really leading the way in creating innovative services for mobile users.”<\/p>\n
So far nine parties are listed on the service, with one collecting over R80 000 in the first week the service was launched.<\/p>\n
“We’re hoping that people who get introduced to Pocit via our Pocit Elect service will continue to use it to pay their bills, buy airtime and make donations,” says Krantz. <\/p>\n
“With a maximum charge of just 35c per transaction, it’s a very cheap way of transferring money for people who have bank accounts but no conventional Internet access.<\/p>\n
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