We're rolling out some significant changes over the next few weeks & months. These changes will bring a lot more flexibility to our service and enhance our position as the leading provider of Payforit services.

Unfortunately, to do this we need to drop the 35p, 250p, 350p and 450p tariffs. From today. we've stopped accepting new tariffs created as these price points, however any existing tariffs created will remain in affect until the 1st May 2010.

We're doing this because we need to add another technical supplier to our service. The new company does not support these price points on O2, T-Mobile, Virgin and Tesco. As this would mean those tariffs would not work cross-network, we took the decision to withdraw them.

All the other tariffs and configurations remain the same and we do not envisage reducing the range of tariffs again in the future.

We apologize for any inconvenience this causes you.

One thing that nearly everyone has experienced online is the dreaded credit card details page. You know, the one that asks for loads of different numbers you can't remember, then you have to fumble around and find your card... we've all been there!

So we did a little research and came up with some interesting statistics on credit card transactions vs. ImpulsePay

How many keystrokes to make an online purchase?


– Sainsbury’s - 122
– Play.com - 120

After a commercial dispute, we have been forced to rename ourselves to ImpulsePay. We’re still the same company, service and technology, just with a new name. Don’t worry, the code you have developed will still work, just you now see the ImpulsePay.com domain name in place of GoPayforit.com.

Before we launched, we obtained legal advice on our brand name, GoPayforit and and set up GoPayforit Ltd to trade with.

However, the network operators subsequently applied for Patent 2523551 and 2523553 on the 21st August (after we launched) claiming a trademark for the term Payforit and its logo. Our independent legal opinion suggests these applications are too descriptive, as trademarks must not describe a process, but just a brand name like Coca Cola.

In due course we’ll get our say to dispute this during the public consolation process, however, this is some way off. In the mean time one of the larger operators decided to take matters into their own hands, demanding we change names or be disconnected!

Our clients have to come first, so rather than risk the service we took the decision to rename and rebrand...We’re still in the process of phasing out GoPayforit, but if you do spot a mention of the GoPayforit name, please tell us.

We've now put this behind us and are looking forward to helping businesses make payments easier!

We’ve just launched Extras, which allows 3rd party companies to easily integrate with GoPayforit. For example, if you use an SMS marketing service, we could automatically add the mobile number of each customer to your list. Alternatively, you could add each transaction to your CRM package, fulfillment service or accountancy software.

The list of services that we could integrate with is endless. We want to kick off with a straightforward way to work with a few companies, then build up that number over time. This lets us focus on just the payment mechanic, whilst letting other companies get on with what they do best.

How does this work?
We’ve standardize the approach and tried to cut out everything unnecessary. Just place the URL for the service into the notification box of the price tariff to integrate. Behind the scenes, our site works out how to structure the request and pushes it out.

If something goes wrong, we’ll email a copy of the error to the registered email address on the account. You can use this to diagnose the error, or get in touch and we’ll see what we can do to help.

Want to get involved?
We’re looking for other sites to integrate with. When possible, we’ll help with the coding or integration work. Take a look at this page for the info passed in a notification requests and get in touch (chris@gopayforit.com) to discuss getting up and running.

When we think simple, do we mean basic? Do we assume a simple service can only perform the basic requirements of what needs to be done, which becomes inferior to others with additional features?

When building GoPayforit, the need to keep it simple was the biggest challenge we faced. We knew building a complicated site was not the answer. Our previous sites had been heading down the road of more features and an ever expanding scope of requirements, which just became unmanageable.

Imagine trying to be an SMS expert, email expert, data analyst expert and data security expert, all whilst trying to offer a better service! We realised this was a mistake and a path we could not sustain, so took a change of direction and started removing features.

Immediately we saw the benefits. Before, developing meant cramming as much in as time would permit. Now we could take our time and get carefully selected parts right. We spent longer planning each page, removing steps and features, questioning what needs to go in and what we could leave aside.

The interesting part of this process, we discovered, was deciding what to do with parts we did not need. As developers, a major focus is dealing with conflicts: an absolute must have element for one person is another's unneeded and irrelevant distraction. To get it right, we need to satisfy those requirements as best as we can.

We found having more time available from a shorter list of features led to better linking of features. Using a variety of techniques, we could hide stuff away, marginalise their impact on the page or just move them to a different section entirely. This actually meant we could do a better job for users on our site.

Did this make the site basic? No. We aimed for 80% of our users being able to use 100% of the site. By contrast, in the previous feature driven site we would be lucky if 80% used 20% of the site. From the feedback we’ve got, people like being able to understand the entire site, not just a small part. Now that they use all of the fewer number of features, they actually end up doing a whole lot more!

The saying goes "you gotta spend money to make money". Whilst this is true, It’s essential to spend that that money wisely. If business were about spending money to make money, why get a Harvard MBA? My wife will help you out for free!

It’s easy to get carried away. You launch a business, buy everything needed and plough as much as you can into marketing, technology and other business stuff. The problem is you’re spending nearly all the money at a time when you know the least about what you’re doing.

So what’s the answer? Don’t spend all at once. Spend a little, see how it goes. Gauge the return; did it meet expectations? After a few weeks or months, spend a little more. Now you’re spending wisely, you know what to expect and what wastes money. If this works, then should you think about making the biggest spend.

We’re going to be doing a marketing campaign. We’ve allocated a five figure amount, so it’s a sizable investment for us. We nearly fell into the trap of spending it all in one go. Then where would we be? Down a lot of money, but a few more "life lessons" richer. Great!

So we held back. We’re spending 10% on a pilot to test the waters. Next we’ll spend 30% to do a larger campaign, which is our chance to get the concept and message right on a larger scale. If that works, we’ll expand to the full target of people. The flip side? We’re only down 10% if we get it wrong.