More Mobile Payments
- by David Dorf
In the previous post I discussed the Bump Payments from PayPayl, but that's not the only innovative way to make purchases using your phone. Verizon recently announced a partnership with Danal that allows shoppers to charge online purchases to their Verizon bill.
For e-commerce sites that accept this type of payment, it's a two step process. At checkout, the shopper enters their mobile number and billing zip code. Then a SMS message is sent to the mobile phone that contains a one-time code that must be entered on the e-commerce site. This two-factor authentication seems pretty secure, and no pre-registration or credit card is necessary. There's a $25 a month maximum, but I bet the limit gets raised as Verizon gets more comfortable with security. Merchants are charged a fee similar to credit card fees.
Another example of mobile payments is offered by BlingNation. Customers attach a small NFC sticker to their phones that allows them to "tap" the POS device to make a payment. The NFC chip is connected to their checking account, so the transaction is treated as a debit payment. Text messages are sent to the mobile that confirm the payments so shoppers can easily verify their purchases. BlingNation is working with banks like Adirondack Trust Company and The State Bank of La Junta in Colorado.
Heck, you can even send money to inmates in the Arkansas prison system using your mobile phone now that the state of Arkansas supports payments via their mobile website. Everyone is getting into the act now.
