There is a whole world of payments being made totally different to how a business like mine would be making payments. We would use EFT’s, and in many instances cheques. Cheques still have the tremendous benefit of being able to prove, payment by payment, who a payment was made to, for which client or matter it was paid and whether or not that cheque was deposited.

That is particularly important when you deal with a lot of doctors, and other professionals whose bookkeeping is not always perfect! Rather than have a fight about whether a matter was paid, as part of a lump sum EFT, for example, you can simply produce cheque after cheque, with the case number on it and indicate that it was paid that way. That type of banking is quite expensive, particularly when it comes to the cost of the cheques, and so it is no wonder that the cellular phone companies got into the business of facilitating payments. I have seen quite a few adverts recently for MTN’s product, Mobile Money with the slogan “Mobile Money is better money.” By registering your bank account, branch code and your Mobile Money 5 digit pin along with your South African ID number, you can send and receive money, deposit and withdraw money, buy airtime and electricity and even pay for groceries at shops like Pick ‘n Pay. I have not ever used a similar product and nor am I with MTN, but I would certainly be interested in hearing from any readers of my blog who have used either this product or a competing product with another cell phone company and to find out how effective and simple it is – and of course how the cost compares to EFT’s and cheques.