Verizon Wireless Plans eCommerce Mobile Payment Service

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., SEOUL, Korea, and SAN JOSE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and Danal, Inc., the global pioneer and leader in charging eCommerce transactions directly to mobile phone accounts, said today that Verizon Wireless plans to launch Danal's BilltoMobile™ payment service later this spring, enabling Verizon Wireless customers to charge online purchases of digital goods directly to their monthly Verizon Wireless bills.  

Verizon Wireless customers will be able to pay for online content and digital goods that are downloaded and consumed on their personal computers from Danal's participating network of popular eCommerce merchant partners.  A secure connection and integration between Verizon Wireless and Danal will provide features important to online consumers and merchants, including robust subscriber authentication and fraud protection, among others.

The mobile payment service will feature a $25-per-month spending limit for these purchases, along with content and parental controls for individual accounts, giving account owners the ability to manage their BilltoMobile usage.  When available, customers with text messaging-enabled phones will be able to shop quickly, securely and conveniently for Verizon Wireless-approved content at online stores, including game sites, social networks and virtual worlds.  Users will also be able to purchase subscriptions to popular online games.

"Verizon Wireless strives to bring its customers services and features they want and that make their lives simpler," said Ryan Hughes, vice president of business development at Verizon Wireless.  "Working with Danal will give our customers the opportunity to make direct online mobile payments with the most secure, feature-rich, convenient method available."  

"Verizon Wireless is combining the convenience of the mobile phone and its strong billing platform to provide their customers with a convenient mobile payment option," remarked Jim Greenwell, chief executive officer of Danal, Inc. in the United States.  "Verizon Wireless is the bellwether service provider in this space, and we see this agreement will likely be the beginning of a change in the industry's approach to online mobile payments -- one that involves ease of use and strong security for subscribers' mobile payments, as well as robust user controls that will help individual subscribers and families manage their digital purchases and digital lives."

The BilltoMobile payment service is simple for consumers.  To conduct a transaction, consumers click on the BilltoMobile button during checkout at a participating online Web site and then input their mobile numbers and mobile billing zip codes for subscriber authentication.  A text message is then sent to consumers' mobile phones with a one-time passcode.  Once consumers input this passcode into the online checkout window, the transaction is completed.  The entire process takes about 15 seconds, and there is no pre-registration or links to credit cards or bank accounts required.  In Korea, where Danal is the dominant mobile payments provider -- and where credit card penetration rates are even higher than in the United States -- 80 percent of all mobile subscribers have chosen to use direct mobile billing, and up to 60 percent of all online digital content purchases in Korea are now billed directly to mobile accounts.

BilltoMobile is now partnering with prominent online merchants in the United States, including popular online game publishers, virtual worlds, social networks, and other sites selling digital items, content and services online.  The attractive merchant fees associated with the BilltoMobile payment service, which are significantly lower than traditional mobile billing rates, along with strong security and merchant back office tools, is creating a major network of participating online sites.  Danal will be announcing some of its signed merchant agreements in the near future.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 91 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE,Nasdaq: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE,Nasdaq: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Danal, Inc. and BilltoMobile™

Danal, Inc. is a privately held, majority-owned company of Danal Co., Ltd – the global pioneer and leader in direct mobile billing for eCommerce. Based in the Silicon Valley, Danal, Inc. also gained early investment support from Morgenthaler Ventures, one of the oldest and premier US venture capital firms. BilltoMobile™ is an alternate payment technology providing mobile subscribers with the ability to charge online purchases from approved merchants to their mobile phone bill. Established in 2000, Korea-based Danal Co., Ltd has launched the direct mobile billing service globally with 14 mobile carrier integrations throughout South Korea, Taiwan, and China that have together processed over $2 billion dollars in transactions with over ten thousand merchant partners.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless