Pay for burgers with your mobile?

Just when you thought you had heard just about every use for a mobile phone along comes another scheme!

Visitors to fast food outlets in Japan will soon be able to pay for their burgers with their mobile phones as Japanese mobile phone operator DoCoMo is teaming up with McDonalds to offer electronic payments and special promotions for mobile users.

Using mobile phones to pay for goods is a massive growth area as operators look for new ways to make money.

Japanese mobile owners are already leading the way, paying for food and train tickets via their handsets.

In the UK, YourRail is working with Chiltern Railways to offer commuters the chance to buy tickets with their mobile phones.

Users buy their ticket on the internet and it is delivered to their mobile phone in the form of a barcode. Gates are currently being installed at Marylebone station which will scan phones.

In Japan, DoCoMo set up a service which allows customers to use their handsets as a credit card.

I agree that this is a pretty good idea but I’m not sure that I like the idea that my mobile service provider would know so much about me and my spending habits.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): DoCoMo, McDonalds, YourRail, mobile payments, Tracy & Matt]