Zoompass, a mobile money transfer service created by the three main wireless carriers, Bell, Rogers, and Telus, is now available to customers of Virgin Mobile.

While Virgin Mobile is now 100 per cent owned by Bell, the Zoompass service was originally only available to customers on the three main carrier networks, as well as their direct affiliate services: Fido, PC Mobile and, in the case of Bell, Solo Mobile.

Zoompass allows smartphone owners to transfer funds securely from phone-to-phone. A Zoompass account is created online and linked to an existing bank or credit card account. Than, download the Zoompass app to a compatible mobile device, and funds can be can sent back and forth for similar fees to that of a traditional bank. You can also view a history of transfers, request money from people, and check the balance in your account.

Money can be "zoomed" from a Virgin Mobile customer to any other Zoompass account holder on any other compatible carrier. Money can be sent to someone who hasn't currently set up a Zoompass account: he'll be notified the funds are there, but won't be able to pick them up until signing up for the service himself.

The main purpose of the service at this point is to allow people to easily collect small amounts of money: for example, for friends to share a lunch bill, teachers to collect field trip fees from parents, or company employees to split the cost of a lottery ticket. But the ultimate goal of Zoompass is to allow customers to make direct payments at retail. Currently, MasterCard does offer a credit card that can be linked to a Zoompass account, then used to pay for merchandise at any PayPass-equipped merchant.

"We are merging the wallet with the mobile phone," confirms Robin Dua, President of EnStream LP, the name of the newly-formed parent company to Zoompass. "Zoompass will eventually allow people to carry everything they carry today, but leave their wallets at home."

A Zoompass account can be set up at www.zoompass.com. Currently, the service is compatible with BlackBerry devices, including the touch-screen Storm and the iPhone, with additional mobile phones being added continuously.

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