O2 and Vodafone are launching the new mpass payment service in Germany, allowing more than 70 million bank and mobile phone customers in the country to "enjoy secure online shopping on their mobile phone or PC." Retailers are also convinced of the benefits associated with mpass and so far a number of them [retailers] have signed up to use the service — including CinemaxX, Blume2000.de, EuroFuchs, Kickz and Beate Uhse — with others like Medion, Falk.de, Mydays and TRIGEMA set to jump on board as mpass partners in the near future.
The new payment system is available to all mobile phone customers with a German provider. So it isn't just Vodafone and O2 customers who will be able to make simple and secure payments for online products and services on their mobile phones or PCs. The new mpass service is incredibly simple to use because it is a combination of the established direct debit system and text message confirmation. In practice, this means that customers can already buy products from the online shop and, in future, they will be able to buy them from the mobile portal. All they have to do is enter their mobile phone number and an mpass PIN that they choose themselves. Vodafone customers can also use their customer PIN for the mpass service. When the PIN has been entered, a text message is sent to their mobile phone. All they have to do is confirm it and the amount is direct debited from their account. Prepaid customers, customers with company mobile phones and customers who use other providers' networks have to register once to use the online payment service free of charge at www.mpass.de.
Commenting on the announcement, O2 Germany's Lutz Schüler said that mpass "enables the some 14 million Vodafone and O2 contract customers to make simple, fast and secure payments from their home PC or mobile phone."
