News

PayPal banks on cell phones replacing ATMs

September 6, 2006

(Raleigh, N.C.) TWEAN Newschannel 14:Consumers can now leave their wallets at home and pay for things with their cell phones, thanks to new technology from PayPal Mobile and Obopay. With PayPal Mobile, a user simply opens an account, loads that account with money or links it to a credit card, and signs a cell phone up for the service. The cell user then sends money by entering a dollar amount on the keypad and dialing the phone number of the payment's recipient. A few minutes, the user receives an automated call from PayPal asking for a PIN to verify the transaction. There is no charge for sending or receiving money, but there are fees for setting up the PayPal account. With Obopay, users download an application onto their phones and then, like PayPal Mobile, load money into their accounts or link their accounts to credit cards. Obopay costs 10 cents to pay out, but receiving money is free. The account also comes with an ATM card that can be used to withdraw money from your Obopay account at an ATM.