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lobal payment technology company Visa Worldwide Indonesia, collaborating with application developer PT Vitta Parama Udaya, launched m-saku (m-pocket) on Tuesday, a mobile payment application for BlackBerry and Nexian users, to provide an alternative in mobile payment methods.

M-saku, which was designated exclusively for Visa cardholders, enables users to refill mobile phone credit, pay bills, buy tickets and shop online with their smartphones.

“Half of the Indonesian population under 45 years old uses cell phones. These people need an application to top up their cellular credits or shop fast through mobile phones,” PT Visa Worldwide Indonesia president director Ellyana Fuad told reporters during the m-saku launch in Jakarta.

The application offers three main features: cellular credit top up, which is available for customers of seven of the biggest cellular providers in Indonesia with maximum transaction of Rp 500,000 (US$59) per month; hot deals, special discount offerings for m-saku users from select merchants; and payments, a feature that enables users to shop from specific merchants including online ticket agent Raja Karcis, with a minimum payment of Rp 25,000 and maximum payment of Rp 1 million per month.

“In compliance with central bank rules, we set no surcharges,” Ellyana added.

Vitta Parama Udaya’s vice president for business development, Hendra, said users would receive transaction receipts via text messages, which was a common practice in mobile financial transactions.

“M-saku offers practicality, security and convenience to its users,” Hendra said.

BlackBerry users can download the application from www.m-saku.me, while Nexian users can to download it through the Nexian Zone.

Currently, m-saku applications are only available for Visa credit card holders. However, Ellyana said that the application would be available for Visa debit and prepaid card holders within one or two months.

Hendra added that iPhone and android-based cellphone users would also soon be able to use the m-saku application.

To register, customers must take pictures of their Visa cards and identity cards using their cell phones.

Indonesia is the world’s sixth-largest population of mobile phone users, with around 158 million.

The International Telecommunications Union estimates that 40 million Indonesians are connected to the Internet via mobile phones. (swd)