Use your mobile as a payment option
Use your mobile to pay your parking fees or to buy a train ticket thanks to PayForIt.
Mobile payment systems, such as premium rate SMS, have been on offer for some time now but many people have been unwilling to use the services due to confusion about just who they were going to pay and what happens if something messes up. Well, now there's an alternative that is (supposed to be) both unified and informative.
Available on the five major mobile networks in the UK, PayForIt has standardised the way that mobiles can be used to make payments. Now, when you make a purchase with your mobile, an information screen will show you just what you've bought, who it was bought from and how much you paid for it. The charge will automatically be tacked onto your next mobile phone bill.
The system isn't designed to replace cash but will offer another choice when making a purchase of up to £10.
"It's about opening up the micro payment choices," said Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association, "but it's not a total cash replacement."
As society as a whole moves away from using cash for their main payment option this can only lead to bigger and better things. Right? Or will we all turn into a nation of silent automatons, communicating solely by text and email?
Have you had a chance to use PayForIt as a payment method? What do you think of the scheme? Tell us your thoughts on it in the comment section below or over in the forums.
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13 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyWe have credit cards for this sort of thing, of which are a lot more secure.
Although if anyone mugged me, they'd still need to get my PIN. But if they did, then they could empty my PayPal account AND my bank account (linked by my debit card).
Ironically, I'm more likely to just have some cash or a card on me than my phone.
On that note, wil this be being offered on Pay As You Go?
Secondly, surely I'm not the only person here who's taken advantage of "for cash" discounts & bartering? 17.5% off is nice... *ahem*
So yes, I'm certainly in favour of more payment options - but I never want anything to "replace cash"...
What happens if your phone is stolen and your nextphone bill has £5K of purchases. Are you covered like a credit card???
I hate that. I'd live in fear that the system would pick me up from a distance and randomly charge me for things.
Fine, then we'll get thieve running around with handheld versions, scanning everyone in sight!
!WHERES THE HUMANITY!
the only scanable versions are the ones they want to fit into people that are the shape of a grain of rice, you then copy the data in them and start imitating people and stealing cash and framing people for serious crimes..... or you can make a strong electromagnetic field and fry everyones chips.
This seems more secure and useful though, I think it could really take off with people. I can see fat kids racking up huge tabs at the vending machine though.
Thats an interesting question, and it all depends upon how it is setup (what communicates with what), and how they write the contract. With a mobile, if it is stolen, you have to report it stolen immediately to the company you have your contract with, at which point they'll immediately stop any future use of the phone, and black-list the serial of the phone (a unique code stamped into the hardware - kind of like how MAC adresses were designed to work).
If, however, you take a day or two to report it, and the thief racks up that five-K, then you have to pay for it.
I would imagine that this system would work the same on the phone side, except when it comes time to report it to your credit card, all the funds stolen would be refuned, and then charged to you on your mobile bill, as I am sure the communication between the two wouldn't be all that on-par ;)
Thats one theory anyway.