TelChina and China Mobile have entered into a strategic relationship to develop Mobile-Pay services on the .tel platform, according to Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the .tel top level domain (TLD).

“As .tel combines advantages of both the Internet and telecommunications, it will be able to provide an efficient and integrated communications platform for customers of China Mobile in the future. The engagement levels of .tel owners will also bring new vitality to Mobile-Pay, attracting more people to use their mobile phones in making payments, which in turn will increase revenues for operators,” said Lucy Wang, CEO of TelChina.

Telnic announced that project development will be divided into several phases. The first phase is expected to be live in early May, 2011, which will enable China Mobile customers to purchase and renew their .tel names via a Mobile-Pay portal using their mobile devices.

Following the implementation of the mobile payment solution, users will also be able to use their China Mobile credits to pay in part or full for their .tel names later this year.

According to Xie Gang, China Mobile’s Mobile-Pay spokesperson, “Mobile-Pay is migrating from its 1.0 era, which is mainly based on SMS, to its 2.0 era, which is based on WAP and sensor-based terminals. This collaboration with TelChina will not only help customers simplify the payment process, but also provide an optimized platform for China Mobile services. On this platform, users will not have to log on to various websites for payment, but accomplish it through the clicking of a Mobile-Pay link on a .tel page.”

China Mobile will also create a dedicated channel for .tel users to  pay for online purchases and other services such as  utility bills and cable TV subscriptions.

Using China Mobile’s PSTN and IP network, through web, SMS, WAP and IVR interfaces, customers will be also  able to fulfill e-commerce operations such as opening an account, checking their balance, submitting payments and withdrawing cash.

Source: PR Newswire