Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Forget about cash and credit cards. There’s a new payment alternative for buying CDs, DVDs and other such entertainment pleasures–your cell phone.
Online payment specialist PayPal, a unit of Internet auction giant eBay, has introduced PayPal Mobile to North America. The wireless version of its service enables users to buy goods and exchange money using their phones. Transactions are conducted by secure text message.
Music heavyweights Universal Music Group and MTV already are supporting the technology.
UMG will use PayPal Mobile to sell CDs by the Pussycat Dolls, Mary J. Blige and Daddy Yankee in direct-marketing initiatives. Rollout is imminent. And MTV plans to use it to sell basic merchandise from its Web store, including T-shirts and DVDs.
Other big-name media and entertainment brands, including 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Bravo and the NBA Store, hope to drive similar impulse buys by offering items for purchase via PayPal Mobile.