Pay online with a Verizon Wireless phone number

Verizon Wireless and Payfone, a mobile payment platform, have teamed up to let customers shop online and pay for items by adding the purchase price to a cell phone bill. Shoppers complete online transactions by entering a cell phone number, and the purchase is added to that number's bill; smart phones, tablets, and PCs can all be used.

Verizon customers can also link their Payfone accounts to a credit card or debit card. This might be handy since larger purchases may exceed transaction limits. And the service will have a way to intelligently route payments to the right funding source based on rules and preferences.

In April, Payfone announced it was partnering with American Express's new Serve payment service, providing a carrier billing component on that platform.

If a user can't pay via a cell-phone bill because the purchase exceeds preset limits, Payfone can complete the transaction with another linked account. Merchants will have different rates on transactions with fees higher for carrier billing, though lower than traditional payments.

Verizon is also pursuing near-field communication (NFC) technology through a partnership with AT&T and T-Mobile; NFC is another way to pay wirelessly, among other services it can enable.

Verizon Wireless and Payfone Power New Mobile Payment Solution [PR News]
Verizon users can now buy stuff with their phone numbers [GigaOM]

—Maggie Shader