By Tony Dennis: Thursday 12 April 2007, 12:25
ON THE quiet, the UK mobile network operators have been moving towards a generic 'branded' mobile payments system called 'Payfor it'. Ericsson has revealed that its implementation has raised sales by 20 per cent. Peter Garside, regional manager with Ericsson IPX, told the INQ that his company has been providing Payforit services to three UK operators – T-Mobile, Virgin, and Vodafone since December 2006. The idea with Payforit is that the operators qualify suppliers to offer the service in order to offer a trusted mobile payment service to subscribers.
Ericsson had previously being offering its own 'unbranded' service which it simply called WAP billing. The company's research has shown that amongst its own customers, those who have switched to Payforit have seen remarkable results. The number of one-off payments – for items such as ringtones – has risen by an impressive 20 per cent. Ericsson currently provides Payforit to around 11 content providers offering approximately 130 services.
According to Garside, the rise is because the Payforit brand "has instilled confidence in consumers. They now feel far more comfortable about purchasing content when they see the Payforit name." Garside claims that other companies have gained accreditation to offer Payforit but they haven't gone live yet.
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