Discount vouchers on mobile phones

[img_assist|nid=8209|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=100] Mobile coupon services are soon to be available for customers under the partnership of Yahoo! and California-based Coupons Incorporated. The two companies are collaborating to introduce a service that enables customers to find and redeem money-off vouchers using their mobile phones.
"We see mobile coupons as a natural extension of our leading digital marketing platform and a way to turn coupons into a strategic marketing vehicle that delivers value," says Steve Boom, SVP, mobile, Yahoo!
800 first-rate brands are going to deploy the new mobile platform immediately after the launch as it is stated by Coupons Inc - which already works with Yahoo! to help companies use online coupons to market themselves and gain business.
"By partnering with Yahoo!, we will extend our customers' reach to a new generation of consumers - especially teens and young adults - in a medium that best fits their lifestyles," Steven Boal, CEO, Coupons, says.
3 billion mobile coupons are predicted to be issued to customers by 2011 with just under $7 billion of discounts redeemed.
The operational principle is as follows. A company sends a unique barcode ID to a customer’s handset.  The customer receives regular, personalized text messages offering discounts on certain items. If the customer is to redeem the coupon, he should present his two dimensional barcode ID which is then scanned at the terminal using "charge coupled device" (CCD) imaging technology.