Digital Payments - a joint venture set up with the aim of extending direct debits to new media channels - has been selected by UK mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse to provide a service that will allow customers to buy air time via the Web or sms text messages using direct debit.
Digital Payments was established June by UK payments network operator Voca is teaming with card fraud prevention outfit Retail Decisions and mobile services group MiPay to enable retailers to manage consumer payments on remote sales channels including digital television, the Internet and mobile phones.
Under its deal with Carphone Warehouse, the company will supply a mobile top-up service that will enable customers to pay for air time on the Carphone Warehouse Web site or via sms text messages using debit or credit cards.
Customers register payment details - account details or debit or credit cards - when first signing up to the service.
To top-up using sms, customers send a text message containing a keyword and an amount to a number provided. A text is then sent back asking for the customer's PIN for verification. Once this has been sent, the customer receives a second message confirming the transaction. Funds are debited to an account, debit or credit card.
Ian Price, managing director, Digital Payments, says: "This service is a real first - direct debit payments that can be triggered via mobile messaging."
Digital Payments says it is working with e-Pay in order to deliver the top-up service to users of Carphone Warehouse's mobile virtual network operators, Fresh and Mobile World.
Carphone Warehouse, operations director, Thomas Scrope, says: "Pay As You Go continues to be a very popular choice for our customers and we are continually striving to find new ways to make our services easier to use. The service is available now via our Web site and launch in the shops is under way."