Looking to cash in on the increasingly lucrative social gaming and virtual goods market, Verizon Wireless is introducing a new mobile payment service.
Called Billtomobile, the service allows approved merchants to integrate a payment option into their checkout systems where purchases –- both one-time and subscription –- are added to a user’s phone bill. For security, a passcode is sent to a user’s phone that needs to be entered online to complete a transaction. There’s also a $25 maximum spending limit per user, per month.
Clearly this is a convenient way for those without credit cards or PayPal accounts to make purchases, and should be a boon to social gaming companies that integrate it. Some networks –- like hi5 and myYearbook –- have seen significant revenue growth from implementing pay-by-mobile options.
Verizon’s service –0 being offered in partnership with mobile billing company Danal -- will launch later this spring.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, JerryPDX