Siri, the Apple personal assistant that works in the latest iPhone device, can now work with Seconds to allow consumers to experience a direct interaction with merchants, including the transaction process, through the use of the mobile web.
When consumers set up their Seconds accounts with their payment information, their mobile phones not only become transactional devices, but when those smartphones also have Siri, Seconds can be used over voice. Individuals are able to use Seconds to send a quick message that is followed up by a transaction through text messaging. Siri is not necessary for Seconds to work, but it does add an entirely new element to the service.
For example, in the instance that a mobile device user would like to pay his or her rent – a service which is currently being piloted throughout March 2012, all that a user needs to do is tell the Siri-enabled iPhone “Send a message to landlord ‘Pay Rent’.” Siri will then confirm what was said and prompt the user to send the message, which can be accomplished simply by saying “Yes”.
The message is then sent and after a moment, a confirmation text will arrive, saying that the account has been charged the predetermined rent amount and rent has been paid.
Using Seconds, merchants are able to program their accounts with a specific dollar amount that will work through customized keywords that will function to trigger a Seconds user’s mobile payment account to be charged. For example, a landlord will be able to associate the words “Pay Rent” with a certain amount of money so that tenants can simply use that term in a text message to pay them every month.
