MARLBOROUGH, Mass.—Another company joined the mobile payment playground as Cyphermint Inc. unveiled an Internet-based system for completing transactions using a cell phone.
The firm launched PayCash Mobile, a cross-platform offering that allows users to manage stand-alone accounts from a mobile phone, computer or specially enabled kiosk. The solution—which expands the company’s 9-year-old PayCash service—is packaged with a debit card that can be used to access funds at ATMs. Cyphermint said it also created a virtual mall that will allow vendors to offer goods and services across the various platforms simultaneously.
PayCash users establish accounts and can choose up to ten vendors for their “payee” lists. Customers reach vendors via preprogrammed keys on the phone, enter the amount they want to pay and receive a receipt on the phone’s screen.
Cyphermint provides a payment system for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions over the Internet. The technology supports micropayments as well as multimillion-dollar transactions and can be used with 255 different currencies.
“The concept of cellular financial transactions is just now being looked at by other cellular, payment and e-commerce companies,” said Cyphermint Chief Executive Officer Joe Barboza, “but Cyphermint continues to lead the market by launching PayCash Mobile for the prepaid wireless markets, bringing carriers, consumers and merchants together.”
While the market for such offerings is unclear, there is no shortage of players in the mobile payment space. PayPal Inc. and TextPayMe offer text message-based solutions, while startups Obopay and Secure Wireless Transfers Corp. have come to market with downloadable applications.
