EnStream LP, a mobile commerce joint venture company owned by Bell Mobility, Rogers and TELUS, announced today the launch of its Zoompass mobile payment service.
Zoompass gives Canadians a fast and convenient way to send and receive money securely using their mobile phone. The service is enabled through the Zoompass application on the mobile phone which combines an easy-to-use interface with an integrated contact manager that redefines how users send and receive money. Zoompass is a better way to pay than cash, cheque, or wire transfer.
It operates on all three carriers’ networks.
Users will need to set up an account and download the Zoompass mobile application (Java-based) onto their mobile phone (major mobile phones supported). Each transaction then costs CA$0.50 and the maximum transaction amount is CA$250. Users will be able to carry a maximum balance of CA$1000.
Unfortunately, Zoompass is not set up to allow customers to pay merchants. For that to happen, both merchants and mobile phones will need to be equipped with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to securely transmit and receive information over a short range. We’re just starting to see this in Canada and trials with mobile devices have already taken place.
It will be interesting to see whether Canadians decide to use their mobile phones as their wallets. And will new wireless carriers (such as Globalive and DAVE) be allowed to also use the service when they launch (I’m guessing not)?