Auction website eBay has revealed it bought mobile payment provider Zong for $240 million. It did so to reach four billion cell phone users as it already has PayPal for browser-based auction payments. Zong allows users to pay for their eBay purchases through their monthly cell phone bill.
And eBay already offers mobile payments with apps for iOS- and Android-based devices, though this requires users to register their account number, credit or debit card with PayPal. With Zong, users from 250 carriers around the world will also have the option of putting in their cellphone number into a site.
eBay expects the deal to be finalized by the end of the summer with Zong likely being integrated into eBay/PayPal soon thereafter.
