4 September 2007
Five of the UK's biggest mobile phone companies have launched a scheme allowing people to use their handsets as 'digital wallets'.
Developed by Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2 and T-Mobile, PayForIt, allows phone customers to pay for items of up to £10 in value. This amount is then automatically credited to their mobile phone accounts.
Purchases made on a PayForIt-enabled website can be credited to mobile users' total bill.
It is believed the technology could be used to pay for items such as train tickets, congestion charging, parking fees or cinema tickets in the near future.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Anuj Khanna, from Tanla Mobile, explained the system further: "You could be on your way to the cinema on the bus on in the car, and you could click and buy your ticket through your phone. It's like PayPal on your phone.
"This is creating a new market for small transactions using your phone. It's a market that has been eyed by all the major banks for a long time but they have not been able to come up with a product."
Companies including MTV, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and ITV mobile are already signed up to the scheme.
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