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Use the web to pay for things using your cell phone
8/8/2006 5:00 AM
By: Adam Balkin

Finding a pocket for every gadget you own becomes especially difficult during the summer months. Well now you can leave your wallet at home and pay for things using your cell phone instead.

The first way is through PayPal Mobile, online at www.paypal.com/mobile. Once you open an account, load it with money or link it with a credit card, you can sign your phone up for the service.

After that you send money by simply entering the dollar amount on the keypad and then dialing the phone number of the recipient. A few minutes later you'll get an automated call from PayPal asking you to enter a pin number and verify the transaction. There is no charge for sending or receiving money, but there are fees for setting up the PayPal account.

And PayPal is also hoping you will Text to Buy, which is buying CDs, DVDs or video games using a special code that will be placed in a magazine or on an advertisement. When you see a Text to Buy icon, just text message the number along with the product code and an automated PayPal robot calls you to verify the transaction.

Another way to pay via cell phone is by using Obopay, online at www.obopay.com. This service requires you to first download an application onto your phone, and then load money into your account or link it with a credit card.

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After that, you can split the lunch bill with pals by simply looking their name up in your address book, entering the dollar amount of your share, and punching in a PIN code. The money appears in the recipient’s account almost immediately, assuming they also have the Obopay application installed on their phone.

It costs 10 cents to pay out, but receiving money is free. The account also comes with a cash card that can be used to withdraw money from your Obopay account at an ATM. This is an excellent way for mom or dad to zing some cash to one of the kids in a pinch.

Although there are currently no retailers who accept Obopay, the company is aiming to make the service retail-friendly in the near future