BlackBerry debuts mobile payment service in Indonesia

CBC News

Posted: Feb 27, 2013 12:45 PM ET

Last Updated: Feb 27, 2013 12:35 PM ET

BlackBerry is latest player in the ecosystem of mobile payment with its pilot launch of BBM Money service in Indonesia. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

BlackBerry has launched a pilot mobile payment service in Indonesia to allow users to transfer money through its instant-messaging service, the smartphone maker announced Tuesday.

With BBM Money, users can create a mobile account from their devices and make real-time payments to their BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) contacts or other bank accounts. They can also buy mobile airtime credit and prepaid SIM cards.

BlackBerry is partnering with Indonesia's PT Bank Permata, which issues BBM Money's mobile accounts. BlackBerry says the service is protected by bank-grade security measures, such as passcode, encryption, monitoring and limits.

The Waterloo, Ont.-based company's decision to debut the service in Indonesia acknowledges BlackBerry's popularity in the country, where the brand is a stronghold in the market of 240 million people.

“BlackBerry leads the mobile and smartphone market in Indonesia, where BBM is extremely popular with our customers,” T.A. McCann, vice-president of BBM and social communities at BlackBerry, said in a media release.

"BBM Money, which uses BlackBerry's BBM service, further evolves the BBM experience to move from real-time chat to meaningful and convenient real-time engagement."

The Canadian smartphone pioneer is the latest player in the ecosystem of mobile payment. On Monday, Samsung unveiled a partnership with Visa to incorporate contactless payment technology in future Android devices. The upcoming Galaxy S4, to be launched on March 15, will feature Visa's payWave system.

BBM Money's pilot launch came a month after BlackBerry introduced two new smartphones, Z10 and Q10.

Stay Connected with CBC News

Big Box Advertisement

Top News Headlines

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine: The mayor of Canada's largest city told a packed news conference that he doesn't use crack cocaine and isn't a crack addict. more »

Washington police blame bridge collapse on Alberta trucker: Washington State police say an Alberta trucker was responsible for hitting a steel beam precipitating a bridge collapse on one of the busiest routes in the American northwest. more »
Royal Bank pledges not to outsource jobs for cash savings: Royal Bank has promised it will never outsource a Canadian job to a foreign worker solely to save money. more »
Canada ranks 3rd last in paid vacations: Canada ranks third last among economically advanced countries in the amount of paid vacation time it guarantees its workers, a new U.S. study indicates. more »
Group calls for probe of Tory database used in election robocalls: The Council of Canadians is calling on the Conservative Party to make a list of everyone who had access to its electoral database during the last federal election and turn the information over to the RCMP and the commissioner of elections. "Anything less at this point would be a coverup," the council said in a press release Friday. more »

Must Watch

Latest Technology & Science News Headlines

Venus, Jupiter and Mercury to perform Dance of the Planets

Venus, Jupiter and Mercury to perform Dance of the Planets: During sunset on Saturday, three planets will form a bright cluster in the western sky known as the Dance of the Planets. more »

3D printers give rise to 'desktop manufacturing': Customizable objects from plastic dollhouse furniture to medical prosthetics can now be designed and printed out by almost anyone at the press of a button, and is going to lead to an 'explosion of new stuff,' predicts author Chris Anderson. more »
Google Street View captures Galapagos Islands: Few have explored the remote volcanic islands of the Galapagos archipelago, an otherworldly landscape inhabited by the world's largest tortoises and other fantastical creatures that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. more »
King Richard III buried in 'untidy' grave: New information has surfaced in the odd tale of the British king buried in a car park. King Richard III's remains, which were discovered August under a parking lot in Leicester, England, were laid to rest in a grave researchers are now saying was "badly prepared" and "untidy." more »
EU pushes through restrictions to protect bees: The European Union has approved restrictions on three pesticides to better protect dwindling bee populations, to enter into force by December. more »

More Headlines »

Bob McDonald's Blog

Chris Hadfield: The gravity of gravity May. 17, 2013 9:58 AM After five months of being Superman and a media superstar, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is now beginning the challenging task of adapting his mortal body and brain to life back on Earth.