Phone Account
	Phone Account is an online payment method that enables consumers to buy digital goods and services over the Internet and charge those purchases to their home telephone bill, their wireless bill, power or other authorized utility bill, or any third-party billing infrastructure. Phone Account is an easy-to-use, secure payment technology that overcomes online fraud, the number one reason for shoppers not purchasing online.  It eliminates the need for consumers to exchange financial information such as credit card numbers or private data such as Social Security numbers when making an online purchase. 1. Phone Account is an online payment method that enables consumers using a dial-up, DSL or cable Internet connection to charge online purchases of digital goods and services directly to their home telephone bill or any other authorized utility bill. 2. Phone Account is secure because it identifies the consumer by the phone line (wired or wireless) from which he/she is connecting to the Internet, thus eliminating the need to send any personal or financial information over the Internet in order to complete online purchases. 3. Phone Account is easy to implement because it is based on proprietary technology that takes advantage of the existing technical and billing infrastructure of the telecommunications industry – Caller ID technology, 1-900 (Pay-Per-Call) capabilities, etc.
	Key Benefits of Phone Account to Consumers
	Security - Phone Account eliminates the need to send any personal or financial information over the Internet thus virtually eliminating opportunities for fraud.  Phone Account uses technology similar to Caller ID to identify the phone number from which a consumer is dialing up to connect to the Internet.  When a consumer makes a purchase at a merchant’s website using Phone Account as the payment method, the Phone Account’s software disconnects the consumer’s computer from the Internet connection, dials into the merchant’s telecommunications data line and sends information about the purchase to the merchant.  After the delivery of purchased digital goods/services, the value is billed to the consumer’s home telephone bill using the existing telecommunications billing infrastructure involving the merchant, telecommunications services provider, telecom billing companies and Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (“ILEC” or the “telephone companies”). Ease of Use - Phone Account provides consumers with an easy “click-to-buy” online payment tool.  The only action required to set up Phone Account is downloading a single Phone Account software file that takes less than a minute with a typical 56K modem dial-up, DSL or cable connection.  Consumers do not need to fill out forms, enter credit card numbers, passwords, etc. or provide any other information.  The purchased product is billed to the consumer’s home telephone bill immediately after the digital product or service is purchased. Online Payment Method for Consumers Without Credit Cards - Phone Account provides access to online purchases of digital goods and services to consumers without credit cards, requiring only a working phone number with access to the telecommunications services provider to start making online payments.
	Key Benefits of Phone Account to Merchants
	Lower Overall Cost - Use of Phone Account lowers overall costs of doing business for online merchants by reducing charge-backs, eliminating costs related to online fraud, eliminating card-not-present fees, and eliminating costs related to the administration and overhead of fraud resolution. Increased Sales - Phone Account enables merchants to reach consumers who wish to buy online but do not have credit cards. This creates additional potential for incremental sales of digital goods and services.  Phone Account enables incremental sales to consumers who have Internet access but do not buy online because they are concerned about security of their credit card information in an online transaction. Ease of use of the Phone Account payment method, called “click-to-buy”, will bring incremental sales from online buyers who are not buying today because they find entering credit card information or filling out personal information forms inconvenient and time-consuming. Online Reporting - Phone Account provides merchants with details of every transaction to enable forecasting and planning, including Stock Keeping Unit (“SKU”) level purchase history and trends, consumer purchase history, and the ability to link to consumer loyalty programs.