British operators team for PayForIt

The United Kingdom's five largest mobile operators--Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2 and T-Mobile--announced they will cooperate on PayForIt, a new mobile payment service that will work across their respective network platforms.

PayForIt enables consumers to bill purchases up to $20 to their mobile accounts. Firms including MTV, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and ITV Mobile are already signed up as accredited PayForIt intermediaries. Initially targeted for digital purchases including audio and video downloads, the PayForIt service is expected to eventually encompass purchases like train tickets, congestion charging, parking fees and movie tickets.

"It's like PayPal on your phone," said Anuj Khanna, head of marketing for PayForIt partner Tanla Mobile, in an interview with The Telegraph. "This is creating a new market for small transactions using your phone. It's a market that has been eyed by all the major banks for a long time but they have not been able to come up with a product."

For more on PayForIt:
-read this Telegraph article

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