The Macalla Platform enables a wide range of innovative mobile payment services. All of these services can be undertaken both nationally and internationally as the Macalla Platform is multi-lingual and multi-currency. This ensures that a donor sterling transaction is provided in the recipient‘s local currency, for example. All countries legal and financial regulations are taken into account when conducting these transactions.
Top-Up
Direct Top-Up enables subscribers to directly recharge their prepaid call credit and that of others without the use of vouchers. This can be done via their own phone, another phone, the internet, kiosk or ATM. Alternatively mobile phone contract holders can top-up subscribers’ phones on their behalf.
How it works:
There are four different ways in which Direct Top-Up works:
1. Self
Subscribers can securely purchase call credit using their preferred method of payment, including credit/debit card or directly from their bank account through their mobile phone (or other electronic channels).
2. Buddy
The system allows a prepaid subscriber to top-up another subscriber’s mobile account and pay using their preferred method of payment. This feature allows parents to top-up their children’s account on an ad hoc or pre-arranged basis.
3. Post-paid
Post paid subscribers can top-up prepaid subscribers’ credit and settle these transactions via their normal billing process. A post-paid subscriber, for example a parent or employer, can top-up a child’s or employee’s prepaid call credit. Equally, a prepaid subscriber can request call credit from a post-paid subscriber.
4. Person to Person (P2P)
This option enables the transfer of credit from one individual prepaid account to another.
The Macalla Platform allows airtime distributors to sell prepaid top-ups through a much wider base of agents than is currently possible using vouchers or scratch cards. Macalla Agent Top-Up connects directly with operators' prepaid billing systems thus bypassing expensive and inefficient voucher models, and allows agents re-sell airtime from any location using their mobile phones as their preferred POS devices. Subscriber payment is typically in cash. The result is much more cost-effective reseller networks than otherwise possible with dramatically increased points of airtime presence, and profitable support for subscribers with very low and variable disposable income levels. The dealer/agent hierarchy is multi-tiered and flexible and the solution has extensive support for commissions/bonuses, special offers and reporting/reconcilliation tools.
How it works:
The mobile agents use their mobile phones, and also the Internet where this is available as their top-up devices for doing subscriber transactions; including in shops, on-street kiosks, showrooms and the like. POS devices are supported where required.
Bill Payment 
Macalla’s bill payment service enables bill payment intermediaries to offer bill payment services to utility companies and other organisations. These services would then permit subscribers to pay bills such as post paid mobile phones, school fees or professional body annual fees.
How it works:
- Subscriber registers for bill payment with utility company using bank account, reverse SMS or debit card
- Subscriber is notified by text (and post) that bill is due for payment
- Subscriber sends text “PAY Gas €90”
- Macalla Platform validates the payment request and processes the payment
- Subscriber is notified when payment is made
This can also be used internationally. For example parents in Africa or the Middle East can pay their child’s phone or utility bills whilst they are at university in Europe.
Mobile Banking 
Mobile banking enables subscribers to access their bank account and carry out banking transactions using their mobile phone. These transactions include:
- Balance enquiries
- Mini-statements
- Inter-account transfers
- Third party transfers
- Utility bill payments
- Transaction statements
How it works: (Example: balance enquiry)
- Subscriber registers for mobile banking via the Internet or ATM
- Customer sends text to bank “BAL [account name]”
- Balance information is immediately returned via SMS to the customer “BAL [account name] = €91.37
Mobile Wallet 
The Mobile Wallet enables the provision of banking services to those traditionally excluded from banking facilities. These services can be provided both in-market and cross-border and include:
- Cash loading
- Cash withdrawal
- P2P payments
- Bill payment
- International money transfer
How it works
- The customer registers for the mobile wallet account using the internet
- The mobile wallet account is topped-up via a prepaid voucher and SMS message
- Alternatively, a person can top up another’s mobile wallet via a P2P transfer
- The customer uses the wallet to pay bills and withdraw cash
Remittances 
This service enables mobile subscribers in supported donor countries to transfer cash directly from their mobile phone to the mobile wallet of their family and friends in the recipient country. This is done either by directly debiting their mobile phone account or by debiting a previously registered credit or debit card. The money received can be withdrawn at an ATM or transferred to a friend or agent’s Mobile Wallet for cash. The Macalla Platform enables both national and international remittances.
Cross Border VAS
All of the Macalla Platform's Value Added Services can be carried out either within a country or across borders and internationally.
Download the Macalla Platform datasheet
