Verizon taps Payfone for payments network

US carrier Verizon has become the latest telco to jump on the mobile payments bandwagon, announcing on Tuesday a partnership with mobile transaction firm Payfone to bring carrier billing to Verizon Wireless users.

The companies didn’t set a launch date but, when the service beomes available, it will allow Verizon customers to make online purchases from their smartphones, tablets and PCs using several payment methods, including charging purchases to their monthly bill or more traditional payment methods through financial institution partners like American Express.

“Our relationship with Payfone complements the part of the mobile payments equation we’re already working on with our Isis joint venture,” said Greg Haller, VP marketing, Verizon Wireless. “We approach the mobile payments arena from a customer’s perspective. As we move forward, the most important goals will be security, privacy and simplicity. Through our relationship with Payfone, we will be able to quickly offer value to our customers by offering them greater choice and a simple, safe and secure purchasing experience when shopping online from their smartphones, tablets and PCs.”

Last month Isis, the mobile payments joint-venture between AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in the US, scaled back initial plans to roll out its own mobile payment network in favour of an m-wallet-style offering after the telcos decided that setting up a separate payments network would be too difficult and time-consuming, leaving the carriers to go their own way, as Verizon has done this week.