Contopronto is the Norwegian-based company that has developed a real-time payment system, delivered through the mobile phone interface.

Contopronto is the Norwegian-based company that has developed a real-time payment system, delivered through the mobile phone interface.

Under the terms of the agreement, it is now possible for mobile phone customers to top-up their accounts directly through their phones simply be sending an SMS, eliminating the need to purchase top-up cards. In Norway about 18 percent of the total population purchases top-up cards from NetCom.

From January 1st, 2005, all NetCom 'Kontant' and 'Young Talk' customers are able to top up their mobile phones using Contopronto's real-time payment system, making mobile pre-payment easier and less expensive, Sommerfelt said.

"Contopronto's system is easy and secure, and the customers get 50% more calling credits for the same price," Sommerfelt said. Topping up through Contopronto saves the customer NOK 1,- ($0.17) per minute.

With Contopronto you can top up your mobile phone credits anywhere, anytime – just by sending an SMS. On of the advantages with the Contopronto solution is that you can also top up when you are abroad. All what NetCom customers need to do is to sign up at Contopronto (www.contopronto.com) and enter funds into their account.

To top-up their NetCom credits using Contopronto, the customers send an SMS with the code PAY NC-AMOUNT to 26262. Example: PAY NC-150. They will immediately receive an SMS from Contopronto with a top-up code. Then they call the free NetCom access number, enter their code, and their mobile is topped up instantly.

The top-up code can also be forwarded on SMS if the customers want to give phone credits as a gift or if they buy for other customers.

Contopronto's system has distinct advantages for mobile providers, Sommerfelt said. It eliminates much of the costs associated with the distribution of top-up cards, and Contopronto can also do customer verification, an important issue in many countries where operators are required to verify the identity of their customers due to security issues.