PayNowSMS Launches New Mobile Payment Service, Brand

"The entertainment and gaming industries have always been the early adopters of new technologies and first in offering offer innovative services to the market. We will continue to extend the reach of PayNowSMS to new entrepreneurial merchants which will in turn provide more variety in services and convenience for PayNowSMS end-users," stated Aidan O'Kelly, Chairman of PayNowSMS.

Ashley Ward, CEO of Upaid, commented on how PayNowSMS represents innovation in mobile payments: "Services such as PayNowSMS will catalyse the mobile content industry, enabling more merchants to sell their products at an affordable commission rate. This can only result in more choice for end-users and unprecedented growth in the content market. We are excited about its potential and the credibility and validation it gives our technology platform."

PayNowSMS allows registered users to purchase both online and mobile content from affiliated merchants and pay with a credit or debit card of their choice. Users register their details, including mobile phone number and optional e-mail address once only, and can purchase content from a Web or WAP site, or by simply sending an SMS message. This message contains a unique code for the merchant and product and is sent to a mobile number dedicated to the service. The Upaid platform performs the necessary financial authorisations for the card purchase and instructs the appropriate PayNowSMS merchant to deliver the product to the user. Users can have content delivered directly to their mobile handsets or receive a username and password to access the content online. The PayNowSMS website also offers account management features, enabling users to track recent purchases and update their details via an easy-to-use Web interface.