Germany-based e-banking technology firm fun communications has developed a payment application for camera mobile phones that requires users to take a snap of an onscreen barcode and press a button to confirm payment.
The application, dubbed fun PhotoPay, is suitable for shopping on the Internet as well as at high street retail outlets. Registered users simply photograph the payment details provided on their PC or at the retailer eftpos terminal. The installed software decodes this information, represents it to the customer mobile and asks for preferred payment method. The mobile application initiates a connection to the payment service provider's server and transmits the data for bank transfer and settlement.
PhotoPay is a mobile payment component integrated in fun's eTra transaction server, which also features modules for online bank transfers, credit card shopping and mobile payments.
Fun says PhotoPay is faster than any other mobile payment solution, as practically no data other than the confirmation of payment needs to be entered; and, as no credit card details or PIN numbers need to be transmitted over the Internet, the system is also more secure.
According to Strategy Analyst, the sales of camera mobile phones during the first six months of 2003 exceeded those of digital cameras for the very first time.