Paysafecard partners with BT to launch mobile payments

BT and paysafecard have teamed up for a service that allows Brits to make online purchases from their mobile phones without disclosing financial details. Using paysafecard`s pre-paid voucher system, customers can make purchases at around 2700 Web sites without handing over card details.

The scheme works with all the UK's major mobile phone operators, such as Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile, 3 and O2, as it taps the industry-developed PayForIt system.

PayForIt, enabling subscribers to use their handsets to pay for low value purchases, was launched in 2007. The scheme was set up by the telcos to provide a standardised payment system to customers - no matter what mobile operator a customer is signed up to or which handset they use.

"This project has been an innovative example of how to use the PayForIt scheme for online purchases," Mike Steel, head, business development, BT agilemedia, says.