MGt, a leading provider of multi-platform software and solutions for billing and customer management to some of the world’s most innovative broadcasters, today announced the launch of PayWizard™, a next-generation solution that is set to revolutionize how micropayments for digital content are monetized.
PayWizard opens up new commercial possibilities for content owners, broadcasters, service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers, gaming companies, publishers and other media owners to more effectively engage and build profitable long-term relationships with their viewers, a capability that is more important than ever in this fast-changing and competitive digital entertainment world.
At the core of the new PayWizard solution is a function-rich, pre-paid e-wallet that securely supports micropayment transactions in multiple currencies. The e-wallet can be “topped up” in a variety of ways, including direct debit, one-off or periodic credit card payments, and via automated payments based on a user-defined threshold. PayWizard also manages all traditional subscription-based pay-TV billing.
A key feature of the PayWizard e-wallet is its ability to support continual card authorization, enabling single-click buying. The viewer can thus avoid time-consuming logins which can lead to consumer frustration and incomplete transactions, and instead gain immediate access to their chosen content, leading to greater viewer satisfaction.
PayWizard supports transactions made on any device, including digital set-top boxes, connected TVs, mobile devices and PCs.
The PayWizard user interface on all devices is easy-to-use and intuitive, enabling viewers to initiate and complete their transactions quickly and easily. A PayWizard account holder can securely manage all of his account details and preferences through the easy-to-use PayWizard website.
PayWizard delivers a highly attractive ‘per transaction’ business model to content owners, broadcasters and service providers compared to some incumbent payment solutions that are simply Payment Service Providers (PSP). The result is greater potential for generating profit.
A unique feature of PayWizard is a web-based dashboard that displays rich commercial transaction information as well as providing valuable marketing information and data on viewer behavior, all delivered in real-time. This dashboard provides the content owner, broadcaster or service provider with instant feedback on transactions, campaign effectiveness, consumption patterns, revenues and detailed information on the content being purchased, all facilitating creation of personalized promotions and offers as well as informed cross-device revenue opportunities.
PayWizard was specifically designed and developed with digital entertainment in mind, leveraging MGt’s expertise gained over 12 years successfully fulfilling the business-critical payment management requirements of digital TV providers and content owners.
At the heart of the PayWizard platform is the Profile™ Software Suite, MGt’s market-leading customer management platform that has been successfully powering customer management, billing, payment processing and revenue realization for MGt’s client base, which includes leading premium content owners, major broadcasters and pioneering cross-platform service providers.
“We believe that PayWizard fulfills the need in the digital TV industry for an independent, commercially attractive, multi-device micropayment solution. In the increasingly diverse and fragmented world of digital media, attracting and retaining viewers is more challenging than ever and requires a sophisticated set of tools,” commented Stephen Petheram, Marketing Director at MGt.
“PayWizard not only offers a revolutionary pre-paid e-wallet, but also provides real-time information crucial to understanding viewer patterns and tastes, enabling personalized promotions that encourage brand stickiness and viewer loyalty.”
In addition to showcasing the new PayWizard micropayment solution at CES 2011, MGt will unveil a number of innovations to the Profile suite to further enhance the capabilities for content owners, broadcasters and service providers to benefit from a single view of their customers across all platforms, securely manage billing and payments and receive real-time information to effectively develop campaigns and offers to more powerfully engage their viewers.
