Nikita Tekutiev

There are two types of USSD services you can create: static or dynamic. The main difference between these two: static services contain information that doesn’t change, while dynamic services have a more complex back end, where they get updated information, like an airtime balance, or bank account details.

Static services can be created even by people who don’t have programming skills. This is possible with our XML based API. Developing static USSD service is like creating a website in HTML. You will need to make XML files, which will instruct us what and how to show to users on their mobile phones. Then you will host these files and make them accessible via Internet protocols (HTTP, HTTPS).

“Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format which is both human-readable and machine-readable. The design goals of XML emphasize simplicity, generality and usability across the Internet. It is a textual data format with strong support via Unicode for different human languages. Although the design of XML focuses on documents, it is widely used for the representation of arbitrary data structures such as those used in web services.”

When you create a static USSD service on Global USSD, its logic is realized in the form of a website. Each page of the website is one page of the service on the mobile device. Website pages are written in the XML format. Below is an example of static USSD service. Since the service is created as a website, we describe the start page of the service in the file named index.xml. Thus, it will be automatically defined as the first page of the website.

On the phone this service will look as follows:

By learning the basics of XML, you can use our manual and create your own static service, then deliver it to subscribers with our Global USSD account. Our API allows combining static and dynamic services. We’ll talk about it in the future.

Sign up for our account now and stay tuned for more information.

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Africa mobile money market will be worth $14.27 billion by 2020, according to the latest Markets And Markets research. Africa was at the forefront of mobile payments, and was the first region to include mobile payments into everyday life, not as a luxury technology, but as a necessity, which improved life and economy of the continent.

“The mobile money services provided by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), banks, and payment processing agents prominently include the usage of mobile phones to transfer electronic money, send and receive international remittances, send and receive money from one mobile device to another, deposit and withdraw money, book travel or movie tickets, make bill payments, pay utility bills, make airtime transfers, and recharge top-ups, among various others.

These mobile money services can be seamlessly used by both banked and unbanked customers present worldwide. Further, with the mobile device becoming a routine usage in the daily life of the people, mobile money services have prominently transformed the user’s payment and money transfer experiences.”

In terms of countries, Kenya is expected to be the biggest market in terms of market size, whereas Mozambique, Madagascar, and Malawi are expected to experience increased market traction during the forecast period.

Due to high presence of USSD service, and familiarity of the African population with the technology, countries of the region are the perfect territory for implementing USSD services of all kinds, not necessarily mobile money.

With Global USSD you can sign up and create working USSD service in a matter of days. Then you can use deliver it to mobile operators of your country, without any additional contracts. By using our patented Call2Service technology, your service can be accessed from any mobile phone within countries, where we support delivery of traffic.

Global USSD API allows building both static and dynamic USSD services by using XML or any side programming language that you prefer. If you are a developer, who doesn’t have resources to deal with mobile operators and invest significant amount of money, our Developer Account will allow to implement your ideas and test them on real mobile subscribers.

For enterprise clients, we offer installation of the platform locally, on the territory of your country, and direct integration with mobile operators. This will allow you to use the platform to create robust financial USSD services and act as an aggregator by connecting 3rd party providers.

Sign up for Developer Account here and stay tuned for more information.

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This post will show you how to to link your USSD service to Global USSD. After you developed the service according to GUSSD specifications, you need to host it on your HTTP server. Then, go to the “Services” section of the console.

Here you can see the list of your active and disabled services. If you want to make your service not accessible, there is no need to delete. Just disable it. Later, it can be activated at any time.

To link a new service, click “New USSD Service”.

Service name – your service name that will be displayed in the console.

Service URL – URL where your service is hosted. The URL should lead to the start page of your service, which is index.xml. Format of the link should be as following: http://host.com/index.xml.

Content request HTTP-method – GET or POST HTTP request method.

C2S-number – assign previously rented number to this particular service.

After clicking “Save”, the service becomes active, provided that you added sessions in your account. The service will be displayed as active in “Services” section. There is an action button against the service. If you click it, you will see a drop down menu.

By clicking “Test”, you can push the service to any required number. “Edit” button will get you to the same page where you created the service. However, you will see a new “Push URL” field.

This URL is specifically generated for your service. To push your service to a required subscriber, enter a number instead of MSISDN. Push URL has the following format: http://prod.globalussd.mobi/push?service=globalussd-lk.7.1439803718647&subscriber=MSISDN

Section “Delivery Test” contains information on various ways of testing delivery to a particular operator of your interest. If you have questions regarding delivery, contact us through “Support” icon in the console.

Contact us if you have questions here or through the console. Stay tuned.

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Global USSD Dashboard Overview: Sessions, Call2Service Numbers, Wallet

After registering and signing into your Global USSD account, you are presented with a dashboard. In this post we will give an overview of its functionality.

1. Amount of funds in your wallet. By clicking on the icon, you are transferred to “Balance” section of the console. Funds in your wallet are used to add sessions and rent Call2Service numbers.
2. Amount of active sessions left. By clicking on the icon, you are also transferred to “Balance” section of the console. You will receive notifications to your email when amount of sessions starts to reach low levels.
3. Amount of rented Call2Service numbers. The icon leads to “C2S-Numbers” section of the console.
4. Stats of your services. Shows used sessions by days.
5. Manuals and API description. Required to created a service.
6. List of active services with assigned C2S numbers against each service.
7. Overview of your account transactions.

When you developed your service, you need sessions and assigned Call2Service number to start delivering it.

Balance section of the console. First, you need to top up your account. Click “Top up”.

Select the amount. After clicking “Buy”, you will be transferred to checkout, where you can use your credit card. After the purchase, your wallet is immediately topped up.

Go to the “Balance” section again, and click “Add sessions”. Choose the required package. The cost will be deducted from your wallet. Note: all payments in the console are deducted from your Global USSD wallet, not your credit card. Use your credit card only to top up the wallet.

To initiate the service, you need a number. Go to “C2S-Numbers” section and click “Rent New C2S Number”. You will be presented with a pool of numbers available for rent.

Choose a number you liked and click “Rent”. The fee for rent will be deducted from your Global USSD wallet every month.

Next, you need to assign the number to your service. We’ll continue overview in the next post.

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One could argue that giving many interfaces for the same service is not a wise idea in 2015, where almost everybody has a smartphone. People can access my service through the browser on a PC, or through my smartphone app while they on the go, a typical service would say. However, let’s look at the USA, first world country, where you would expect almost everybody to have a smartphone.

In the last three years the number of Americans owning a smartphone has jumped from 35% to almost two-thirds but affordability has meant many have had difficulties paying for them, according to the latest Pew study.

The study shows that while smartphone adoption is high, the cost of owning one and the associated phone contracts which can run as high as several hundred dollars have meant that 23% of all US smartphone owners and 48% of smartphone-dependent users have had to cancel or suspend their phone service because of the cost. Aaron Smith, a senior researcher at Pew Research Center said: “The connections to online resources that smartphones facilitate are often most tenuous for those users who rely on those connections the most … but for many users this access may not be available when they need it due to financial stresses or technical constraints.”

Those are curious facts that can change a mind of a typical service provider in the first world. Considering that only 68.8% of the US population have a smartphone (30% still stay untapped), and 48% of smartphone dependent users are left without data connection at some point in time due to financial or technical reasons, we can state that alternative channels are necessity, rather than excessive care for customers from companies that can afford it.

For that, USSD can be a perfect technology, as it doesn’t require data connection and works through 2G. At the same time, it can fully replicate functionality of a smartphone app. By adding USSD based interface to your existing services, you can reach 100% of mobile phone market, as USSD works on all GSM phones, even the basic ones.

Register your account here and start using Global USSD account to build services and send them to mobile phones worldwide. Stay tuned for more posts.

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