Retail IT News

O2 parent company Telefónica has signed global agreements with Facebook, Google, Microsoft and RIM to provide customers with a way to pay for digital goods and services directly through their phone bills, Computing.co.uk reports.  The mobile operator said eliminating the need for credit card payments on mobile would be a key way of driving downloads of paid content, particularly in developing markets where credit card use is low, Mobile-Financial.com writes.  The company has started to roll out the direct-to-bill payments capability in Europe and plans to have it live in 14 of its operating businesses globally by the end of the year.  Telefónica says the offering is particularly compelling in Latin America where 60% of the population do not have bank accounts and where direct carrier billing trials have been very well received, CardNotPresent.com notes.  In Germany, where Telefónica already offers the service, the company says 400 000 users per month bill mobile purchases to their Telefónica accounts.  Under the agreements, Telefónica says it will enable its customers to charge to their phone bill apps purchased through Facebook payments, the Google Play Store (which also will enable Telefónica to establish its own branded channel within the store), Microsoft Phone Marketplace and the BlackBerry App World store.

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