ANCHOR LEAD:
HOW MANY TIMES HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU? YOU'RE OUT AT DINNER WITH FRIENDS AND DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CASH TO COVER THE BILL...OR MAYBE YOU WANT TO BUY THAT HOT NEW DVD ONLINE, BUT END UP FISHING THROUGH YOUR WALLET FOR FIVE MINUTES JUST TO FIND YOUR CREDIT CARD! HEADS UP! THERE'S A NEW WAY TO TRANSFER MONEY ON THE FLY AND IT INVOLVES A GADGET YOU USE EVERY DAY! _______ EXPLAINS.

TRACK ONE Length: 09
HEATHER O'CULL LOVES MAKING PLANS TO HEAD OUT ON THE TOWN. SHE RECENTLY BOUGHT SEVERAL TICKETS TO A SHOW...AND WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR HER FRIENDS TO REPAY HER...

SOT
KEY @: 10 (quick)Heather O'Cull, Texts Money
"I didn't want them to write me checks cause it's such a pain to get to the bank."

TRACK TWO Length: 12
SO INSTEAD OF BREAKING OUT THEIR CHECKBOOKS, HEATHER'S FRIENDS BROKE OUT THEIR CELL PHONES! WITH A SIMPLE TEXT MESSAGE, THEY EACH TRANSFERRED CASH TO HEATHER! C-NET'S BRIAN COOLEY SAYS IT'S A CONVENIENT NEW WAY TO MOVE YOUR MONEY!

SOT
KEY @: 26 Brian Cooley, CNET
"If you have a phone, it's always with you. It becomes part of your everyday life, so it's a very ubiquitous payment system."

TRACK THREE Length: 15
HOW DOES IT WORK? YOU SIGN UP ON A SITE LIKE TEXT-PAY-ME, OBO-PAY, OR PAYPAL MOBILE. ALL THREE ALLOW YOU TO SEND AND RECEIVE FUNDS --MEMBER TO MEMBER --USING YOUR CELL PHONE. WITH PAYPAL YOU CAN ALSO TEXT TO BUY FROM A LIMITED NUMBER OF MERCHANTS.

SOT
KEY @: 46 Kevin Dulsky, PayPal Mobile
"So you may see an advertisement for an item that you want, you simply send a text message, and you can buy that item right from your phone."

TRACK FOUR Length: 08
LIKE IMPULSE SHOPPER MARK PUNDSACK...WHO LIKES TO PAY AS QUICKLY AS HE BUYS. HE RECENTLY TRIED OUT PAYPAL MOBILE AND SCORED THIS HAT.

SOT
KEY @: 1:00 Mark Pundsack, Texts to Buy
"It was so fast that you kind of wonder if it really happened afterwards."

TRACK FIVE Length: 08
TO CREATE AN ONLINE ACCOUNT, YOU'LL NEED TO ENTER SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION...LIKE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND OF COURSE YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER! AND DON'T FORGET...

SOT
NO KEY Brian Cooley, CNET
"You do have to divulge your bank account number."

TRACK SIX Length: 10
EACH SERVICE OPERATES DIFFERENTLY, BUT THE BASIC IDEA IS THE SAME. TO PAY SOMEONE...YOU TEXT A CODE OR COMMAND TO THE COMPANY ALONG WITH THE AMOUNT AND THE RECIPIENT'S CELL PHONE NUMBER.

SOT
KEY @: 1:24 Brian Cooley, CNET
"Within a few seconds you'll get a message back that wants you to confirm and you enter a pin number."

TRACK SEVEN Length: 08
THE MONEY IS THEN TRANSFERRED TO THE RECIPIENT'S WEBSITE ACCOUNT. FROM THERE, IT CAN BE MOVED TO A BANK ACCOUNT OR A CHECK CAN BE ISSUED. EXPERTS SAY THE SITES ARE SAFE.

SOT
NO KEY Brian Cooley, CNET
"They aren't like the Internet where they're wide open and easily hacked."

TRACK EIGHT Length: 04
HEATHER TRUSTS THE TECHNOLOGY AND USES TEXT-PAY-ME ALL THE TIME!

SOT
NO KEY Heather O'Cull, Texts Money
"It makes life easier!"

ANCHOR TAG:
WHILE IT'S FREE TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT, OBOPAY DOES CHARGE TRANSACTION FEES. AND UNLIKE THE OTHER TWO SITES YOU MAY NEED TO DOWNLOAD AN APPLICATION TO YOUR PHONE. ALSO, BEFORE YOU GET STARTED, CHECK EACH WEB SITE TO MAKE SURE YOUR WIRELESS CARRIER SUPPORTS THE SERVICE.

SOURCE INFORMATION:

Brian Cooley
Editor-At-Large
CNET.com
235 Second St.
San Francisco, CA
Media Contact:
Jenifer Concepcion
Manager, Public Relations
Office: (415) 344-2441
Email: jenifer.concepcion@cnet.com
Brian Cooley reports on what happens when the rubber meets the road in consumer electronics and personal technology. A consumer himself who lives with technology everyday, Brian's reporting focuses on its best uses and how technology can make life more efficient, fun, and productive. He has been with CNET for more than nine years and is well-known for his uncanny ability to bridge the gap between technology and the real world. His online video reports show what works, what doesn't and how to make it all fit in your life -- not just in theoretical market demographics.

Kevin Dulsky
Senior Director/General Manager
PayPal Mobile
2211 North 1st Street
San Jose, CA 95131
Media Contact:
Jamie Beane
Access Communications
Office: (415) 844-6279
Email: jbeane@accesspr.com
Kevin Dulsky is the Senior Director/General Manager of PayPal Mobile. He says PayPal currently has 105 million users, so it was only natural for the company to let them access their accounts from a mobile device. With PayPal Mobile you can text to buy from a limited number of merchants, send money member to member, or donate money to charity,

The three services included in this piece are:
1.) Paypal Mobile : https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/mobile/MobileOverview-outside
2.) Obopay: www.obopay.com
3.) TextPayMe: www.textpayme.com

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND/SOURCE INFORMATION:

Phil Yuen
TextPayMe.com
18300 NE Union Hill Rd, #294
Redmond, WA 98052
Phone: (425) 276-0131
Email: philyuen@textpayme.com
Phil Yuen is the CEO of textpayme.com. Phil says he came up with the idea for the service after he and his friends were having trouble splitting the dinner bill. Phil also put us in touch with Heather O'Cull, a member of textpayme.com.