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Mobile payment system launches on all UK carriers
PayForIt, the application that allows mobile users to buy goods and services for up to USD20 with their handsets, is launching today on O2, 3 and T-Mobile. The scheme, which is developed by Dialogue Systems and was announced in Mar last year, is now available on all five UK mobile operators, as it was already offered to Orange and Vodafone customers. It is unclear what handsets are compatible with the WAP payment solution, which its launchers hope will be used to pay for ringtones, train tickets and parking fees. The system works by adding any cash spent onto the customer's phone bill and could eventually also be used as a payment system for online retail sites. I-play, Gameloft, EA, Multimap, Sony Ericsson and Samsung are among the first to have signed up to let people pay using the scheme.
The industry hopes that the system will boost customer confidence in mobile payment, as it provides clear and detailed information on every transaction, unlike premium rate SMS system and other solutions. Although customers may not be easily convinced by the new payment scheme's superiority over others, PayForIt still has a good chance of success, says Paul Hunt of Atos Origin. "There's a much wider age range of mobile users and the capabilities of handsets have changed," the expert on mobile commerce tells the BBC. "The click to buy reality is catching up with the hype."
Mobile payments from 204m users globally will generate transactions of some USD22bn by 2011, Juniper Research said last month. Earlier this month Sheffield-based Dialogue launched a trial of 2shop4, hailing it as the UK's first mobile shopping mall.
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