SMS based Political Donations – Is America ahead of India?

This Newsflash from Finextra.com ‘Obama campaign taps payvia for text message-based donations’, motivated me to write this blog post.

          In the run-up to the US Presidential elections, the Presidential candidates are searching new ePayments modes to attract donations to their campaigns.

         

          Obama’s donation campaign via SMS messages is one such mode.

This is in addition to the Card donations via Square, which both Obama and his opponent Mitt Romney have already launched.

          If readers remember Aamir Khan’s ‘Satyamev Jayate’, one of the modes for fund raising was through SMS messages.

          The campaign was fairly successful and apart from the funds collected, the ePayment mode attracted attention around the world.  As on date, no other Indian NGO or Political party has adopted this ePayments mechanism.

         

          Hence, it was a bit of surprise, to note that Obama’s campaign team has adopted the SMS Message mode to attract donations from supporters. The same approach is expected to be adopted by Mitt Romney’s team.

          The first instance of SMS being utilized for a major fund raising program was for Haiti January 2010 earthquake victims.

          The 2012 American Presidential elections will be the first major political event to innovatively tap the power of SMS based donations.

          The chief variation between the Indian and the American model is that in India, Donations can be made via the Prepaid or the Postpaid plans. In America, the donations can be made only on the Post paid plans.

          Another difference between the Satyamajayate campaign and the American campaign is the cap on the maximum amount.

The maximum cap was Re1/- in India, whereas in America for political donations it is $10 a message and $50 a month.

         

          The USAs’ FEC (Federal Election Commission) had approved this new ePayments mode only in June 12, and within a very short time, the American political parties have adopted it.

          The TAT time or the Pass-through window, during the Haitian campaign was 90 days. Hopefully, with recent technological developments, the 90 days timeframe will shrink to 20-30days.

          Which Indian Party will adopt this ePayments mode first?

          Unique Indian requirements:-

01)   ‘cancel’, future payments option.

02)  Post paid plan – In case the bill is overdue/not paid by the consumer, what will be the status of the SMS donation?

Any other requirements to be kept in mind?