Implementing and Evaluating a Smart-M3 Platform-based Multi-vendor Micropayment System Pilot in the Context of Small Business

Today, micropayment systems usage is highly topical. For example, applications of mobile micropayment systems are widely used and are well known by the public.The objective of this study was to implement a micropayment system pilot based on an interoperability enabling platform (in this case, Smart-M3) for small businesses with restricted resources, scarce labor force, and a growing number of products and vendors.In these small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) contexts, piloting systems of this kind is usually problematic because of its immediate impact on the core business and monetary transactions that are essential for SMEs. An account-based system was considered an appropriate starting point for the micropayment system pilot. The applicability of the Smart-M3 platform was then validated by the implementation of the system. Lastly, a summative evaluation was carried out by interviewing direct stakeholders, to enrich the observations from the validation. The results of the study show that the implemented system provides small businesses with opportunities to reduce costs and more efficiently use resources, adding new devices and systems, new ways to produce services, andreal-time tracking of the sales process, as well as utilization of the data collected from the system. From the customers’ point of view, the efficient use of resources may lead to more competitive prices of the products and services. Micropayment system usage can also be seen as a starting point for improved user experience, includingsafety, efficiency, and ease of use.

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