Contactless payment for mobile money in Ghana
Date
2020-05
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Abstract
The use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) applications in
conducting monetary transactions is an unsafe and slow means of payment. Research has shown
that USSD applications utilize outdated encryption techniques, which make it susceptible to
hackers during data transmission; they are unreliable and have long processes before payment
is conducted. This study aims to explore how Near Field Communication (NFC) technology
can be used to conduct payments. Comparing the two payment techniques, it asks: How does
NFC payment compare USSD payment and what advantages does one present over the other.
In this context, these payment methods are tested with Mobile Money, a mobile banking
platform.
Based on a review of literature on NFC and USSD as technologies and payment
techniques, a system was built to allow payments to be made via NFC technology. A survey
was then conducted to collect the duration of the already existing USSD payment and the NFC
payment. Analysis of the data collected showed that payment using NFC technology was
substantially faster than that of the USSD. The results indicate the efficiency of NFC over
USSD. On that basis, it is recommended that mobile money providers implement this form of
payment. Further improvements must be made to the system to improve it in terms of security and user experience.
Description
Capstone Project submitted to the Department of Engineering, Ashesi University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering, May 2020
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Senior project
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Keywords
Near Field Communication (NFC), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), mobile money, MTN