Services that turn your cell phone into a payment device
Last reviewed: September 2011
PayPal
Pay for online purchases via smart phone by punching in a code or your phone number and a PIN. Payments are funded by a prepaid
PayPal account or a credit or debit card. Two PayPal Mobile account holders can pay each other by bumping their iPhones together.
PayPal Mobile plans to expand to in-store payment services by the end of this year.
obopay
Useful for paying small businesses and service providers that don’t accept credit cards—for example, hair stylists or day-care
providers. Customers e-mail a Web link from their wireless phone to the seller, who clicks the link to transfer payment into
his Obopay account. You can fund these transactions with a credit, debit, or prepaid card or with a prepaid store or Obopay
account.
Square
You can pay garage-sale entrepreneurs, merchants at farmers markets, and other small businesses by credit or debit card if
the seller is among the half million who have a Square card reader plugged into their iPhone, iPad, or Android phone.
Zong
You can buy “virtual goods” for online games and digital downloads of music, videos, e-books, and subscriptions by typing
your cell phone number on an online checkout page. Zong sends a text message to your phone for confirmation, and the charges
are placed on your cell phone bill.
FaceCash
Call up a FaceCash bar code on your smart phone and have it scanned by the merchant. Your photo will appear on the cash register
monitor; once it is verified, the payment will be made from your FaceCash account, which you fund and replenish using your
checking or savings account.
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