O2 launches pay-by-mobile service

O2, Britain's second-biggest mobile phone company, today launched a pioneering mobile-payments service, called O2 Wallet, which allows users to pay for goods from their phone, transfer money and send any sum between £1 and £500 to a friend.

The free service is open to anyone resident in the UK aged over 13 with a bank account, in addition to O2's 22 million customers.

O2 Money's James Le Brocq said: "It will transform the way people manage their finances and spend money."